Feb. 17 – Jacksonville, Fla.

 

The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer will have a new start in 2013, on ATP Tour Boulevard in Ponte Vedra Beach in Jacksonville, Fla., home of the parking venues for The Players Championship. Officials made the move to accommodate the number of participants anticipated for the sixth annual National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer, scheduled for Feb. 17, 2013. The official race finish and the Runners’ Village will remain at the Mayo Clinic campus.
Last year’s 26.2 with Donna had a record 10,146 registered participants. The PGA Tour will provide free on-site parking for 15,000 vehicles for the 2013 event.

 

“We are proud to contribute a new start venue for the 26.2 with Donna and support the wonderful work of Mayo Clinic and The Donna Foundation,” Players Championship executive director Matt Rapp said in a news release. “With this new course, visitors and newcomers to the area will be able to experience firsthand all the First Coast has to offer.”

 

With the new start, the 26.2 with Donna course will guide runners and walkers through four beach communities on historic Florida A1A. The course will loop back to Butler Boulevard and over the Intracoastal Waterway to the finish in front of Mayo Clinic.

 

“To finish breast cancer, we must continue to grow and raise more funds to support the important work at Mayo Clinic and The Donna Foundation. Our vision for 2013 and beyond requires us to review our strategy for growth,” says founder Donna Deegan, who was featured in Endurance Magazine’s July issue. “This can be accomplished with the move of the race start. We truly appreciate the PGA Tour for the use of their parking venues.”

 

Since its inaugural year in 2008, the 26.2 with Donna has contributed more than $3 million to its beneficiaries, with 100 percent of raised funds and race proceeds for all 26.2 with Donna events going to breast cancer research and care. Seventy percent of proceeds go to the Mayo Clinic for cutting-edge breast cancer research, and 30 percent of proceeds go to The Donna Foundation to help breast cancer patients with critical financial needs.