ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, GO TO MERRIMACK THIS WEEKEND

MERRIMACK COLLEGE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Merrimack’s own Dave McGillivray ’76 will host the second annual DMSE Sports Classic this weekend, bringing together runners of all levels and ages for two days of competition and festivities on campus.

The event will feature a 5K, 10K and half-marathon for adults; quarter-mile, half-mile and mile runs for kids ages 5 to 12; and a Celebrity Mile run. All races will start and end on the Merrimack campus. 

Participants will also have the opportunity to enjoy a number of post-race festivities, including a pasta dinner, a speaker series and an activity dome. An impressive selection of complimentary food and beverages will be provided throughout the weekend, and live music will be on hand after Sunday’s half-marathon.

McGillivray, who founded and manages the event, said last year’s inaugural offering was a rousing success.

“Participants said they were over the moon about it,” said McGillivray, who also serves as race director of the Boston Marathon. “It was a home run.”

McGillivray added that his alma mater, with its excellent amenities and supportive community, is the “perfect setting” for the event.

This year’s half-marathon will loop through the campus and surrounding community twice instead of following last year’s single loop through the community, McGillivray said. That will eliminate some of the daunting hills runners faced last year.

The list of luminaries registered for Saturday’s 11 a.m. Celebrity Mile invitational includes former Patriot Max Lane, Channel 4 meteorologist Eric Fisher and NASA astronaut Suni Williams.

McGillivray, who once ran across the United States from Medford, Oregon, to his then-hometown of Medford, Massachusetts, to raise funds for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, also plans to compete this year. Participating in the half-marathon, he said, will allow him to experience the challenges of the course firsthand.

Runners can register right up to race time. Visit the event website at www.dmseclassic.com.