SPRING TRAINING CLASSIC EXPANDS TO ADD 5K TO POPULAR MARCH 18 10K ROAD RACE AT ROGER DEAN STADIUM IN JUPITER

Limited number of $15 Cards-Marlins tickets for race-day game available to those who register online at www.springtrainingclassic.com; event managed by Boston Marathon race director

JUPITER, Florida — The popular Spring Training Classic that begins and ends at Roger Dean Stadium has expanded this year to include both a 5K and 10K road race, opening the charity event up to runners of all ages and abilities, race organizers announced Monday. 

Set for Sunday, March 18, online registration is now open at www.springtrainingclassic.com. Runners – and walkers – who register for either the 5K or 10K online also can purchase $15 tickets to the spring training game between the Miami Marlins and the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals later that day at the stadium. 

A Cops ’n Kids Fun Run event will begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 17, with a meet and greet visit from a Marlins player at the stadium, and a Health Expo and race registration will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. 

Both the 5K and the 10K start at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday outside the stadium and wind through the streets of Abacoa before taking runners on a victory lap around the outfield and ending at home plate. A course map and description of the route can be found at www.springtrainingclassic.com.

“The Spring Training Classic makes for a great family weekend featuring two American pastimes – fitness and baseball,” said race director Dave McGillivray, whose firm DMSE Sports also directs the Boston Marathon and 30 other major races throughout the U.S. “Runners will be down on the field and crossing home plate in the morning, then can relax and enjoy the ballgame from the stands in the afternoon.”

Also new this year is the South Florida Runner’s Challenge. Finishers of the nearby Shamrock 5K in Lake Worth on March 17 and the Spring Training Classic’s 10K event will earn a special finisher’s medal. The two races also are allowing runners to register for either event via either race website – https://register.gorun.org/Shamrock/ or www.springtrainingclassic.com

Runners who register for the Spring Training Classic online can also purchase a $15 ticket to the ballgame on race day, while supplies last. The race entry fee is $30 in advance online and $35 at the Expo on Saturday and Sunday. Race organizers are including the special game-day package to support runners who want to stay for the game.

The new 5K course begins on Main Street across from the stadium as does the 10K and goes down Bermuda and Greenway before returning to the stadium, while the 10K course passes through seven Abacoa neighborhoods before rounding home base. 

Race organizers say family members accompanying runners who wish to volunteer can sign up at www.springtrainingclassic.com/volunteer. 

Proceeds from the race will benefit the Marlins Community Foundation that offers grants to local charities and rewards gifts on a quarterly basis that fit within the Cornerstones for Kids Programs, which builds a “brighter future through education, the arts and baseball.” Lead sponsor of the Spring Training Classic is the Miami Marlins. 

Founded by McGillivray in 1981, DMSE Sports, Inc. is a leader in sports event management, specializing in creating, marketing and producing mass participatory athletic events throughout the U.S. and abroad. McGillivray has produced or consulted on more than 900 mass-participatory athletic events, including the Boston Marathon, the TD Bank Beach to Beacon10K in Maine, Run for the Dream in Williamsburg, Va., the Women’s Half Marathon series in St. Petersburg, Fla. and recently was named race director of the famed New Balance Falmouth Road Race in Cape Cod. For more info, visit www.dmsesports.com.