23RD SHAMROCK RUN EXPECTED TO DRAW MORE THAN 4,000

Kingston, N.Y. (March 9, 2011) – More than 4,000 runners are expected for the 23rd annual Shamrock Run, scheduled for Sunday, March 13 in Kingston. This year’s event has a special patriotic feel because it is dedicated to Marine Sgt. Eddie Ryan of Ellenville, N.Y., a Purple Heart recipient who was severely injured in 2005 while serving in Iraq.

Bob Ryan, a spokesperson for Team Ireland, the group organizing the run, said 2,000 people are already pre-registered for the event. Last year, the run had 3,550 people.

The two-mile run begins at 12:50 p.m. at Academy Green and will finish at the foot of Broadway. Check-in and race day registration is from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. across from Academy Green at Gov. Clinton Apartments, 1 Albany Ave. Entry fees are $15. Irish band Mactalla Mor and Joan McGrenaghan’s Celtic Heels will perform before the run, beginning at 11 a.m.

This year, $1 from each registration will benefit the Ulster County Catholic Youth Organization. A few of the past years’ beneficiaries include Ulster Performing Arts Center, American Red Cross, Angel Food East, Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, Kingston Area Library and Boys & Girls Club of Kingston.

A St. Patrick’s parade, sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, will immediately follow the race and a runners-only post-race party begins at 1:30 at the Rondout Neighborhood Center, 105 Broadway, Kingston. Runners will be automatically registered in a prize drawing at the party. The winners must be present at the party and will be given round-trip tickets to Ireland.

Bob Ryan said: “The run is basically the first float of the parade. It’s an exhilarating feeling having that many people lined up for the parade watching you run.”

To put on the run, Ryan said it was a coordinated effort by a lot of people. “I would like to thank the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Without them, our volunteers and Team Ireland, we wouldn’t be able to stage this wonderful run.”

The Shamrock Run was an idea generated in 1987 by Jim Kelley Smith, who was a local runner who wanted a race to precede the Kingston St. Patrick’s Day Parade as a way to get people out in the spring and into running, along with his two roommates, Bob Nanz and Bob Ryan. The first race, in 1988, generated 297 runners and now exceeds 3,500.