The Queen Anne’s County Commissioners and the MDTA signed a Memorandum of Understanding, and the County and Chesapeake Bay Bridge LLC signed an agreement with Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run LLC/Sparrow Rogers and Peter Paris, to create a new event that will allow runners to cross the Bay Bridge as part of the new “10k Across the Bay”.
With endurance sports growing each year, race organizers Sparrow Rogers and Peter Paris felt that there was only one problem with the road races currently offered in Maryland: none of them crossed the most remarkable landmark in our region. In 1612, Captain John Smith said, “Heaven and Earth have never agreed better to frame a place for man’s habitation.” Rogers agrees, “The most beautiful, magical place in this region is the Chesapeake Bay. Every time I drive over the Bay Bridge, I feel a sense of wonder.” For Paris, who is an avid runner himself, “The idea of creating a race that goes straight over the Bridge really caught my imagination. I didn’t know how we could make it happen, but I knew we had to try.”
With support from State Senators Richard Colburn, E.J. Pipkin and John Astle, as well as Representative Jeannie Haddaway, Peter and Sparrow were given a road map for how to move forward with planning a running event straight over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Introductions were soon made to Harold M. Bartlett, Executive Secretary of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA). The MDTA is the Maryland agency that owns, operates and maintains the Bay Bridge and the State’s seven other toll facilities. In addition to the MDTA, Paris and Rogers knew they would need help from Queen Anne’s County to pull the whole thing off and they soon teamed up with the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners and economic development professionals to iron out the details.
“As an elected leader for Queen Anne’s County, it is our job to facilitate activities that will support our local businesses. As a resident, it is my passion to share this beautiful County with all of our visitors. With the launch of the 2014 Bay Bridge Race, we hope to showcase all of our natural and human resources to visitors from near and far,” said Steve Arentz, President of the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners.
To find out more about the race, visit the event’s website at www.BridgeRace.com and make sure to follow “10k Across The Bay” on Facebook.
For more details about the 10K Across The Bay, please contact:
Sparrow Rogers
Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run, LLC
sparrow@bridgerace.com
www.bridgerace.com
571-213-2519
Queen Anne’s County
Faith Elliott-Rossing
Director of Economic Development, Queen Anne’s County
410-490-3099
FElliott-Rossing@qac.org
Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA)
(410) 537-1000
1 (866) 713-1596
mdta@mdta.maryland.gov