Bend Marathon Announces New Ownership, Registration Opens Tomorrow

The Gorgeous Series, Kari Strang, and Max King are very pleased to announce that the Bend Marathon and Half-Marathon has been acquired by Kari Strang and Max King.

The Bend Marathon and Half-Marathon was founded by the Gorgeous Series in 2015 and has quickly become a must-do race in the Pacific Northwest. The race has developed a reputation as one of the country’s most scenic courses, with registration increasing by double-digits each year. The event now includes a 10k and Family 5k, which were added in the last two years. Last year, 2,144 people registered for one of the events’ four races, coming from 39 States, Canada, the UK, and China. 25% of the runners were from Central Oregon.

Kari Strang and Max King have been fixtures of the Bend running scene, coaching youth and adult running programs as well as race directing other prominent Bend running events such as the USATF Cross Country Championships, Bigfoot, Grin and Bear It, Monster Dash, and the Bend Cross Country series. They are excited to be taking on the Bend Marathon. As long time members of the Bend community, they look forward to working with the city and neighborhood associations to make sure the Bend Marathon continues to be a source of pride for the city and the Bend running community.

Gorgeous Series owner, Kerry Loehr said that he and his partner, Traci Manning wanted to find a way to give more attention to the Gorgeous Series’ five Oregon one-day relays. But, said Kerry, “The Bend Marathon and Half-Marathon was created by runners, for runners to highlight everything that is incredible about Bend. We are only able to part with it because we know as runners and residents of Bend, Max and Kari will not only honor that intention, but have the skills, passion and experience to continue the event’s growth and take it to the next level.”

The 2019 Bend Marathon and Half-Marathon will take place on Saturday, April 20. Registration will open soon. The Gorgeous Series puts on five one-day relays in the most gorgeous parts of Oregon. The next event is the Gorgeous Relay, Sunday, September 16.

Kerry Loehr can be reached at 503-380-9389, relay@gorgeousseries.com, www.gorgeousseries.com

Kari Strang can be reached at 541-788-6412, bendmarathoninfo@gmail.com, www.bend-marathon.com