The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series is a collection of road running events owned and operated by Competitor Group, Inc., which is owned by the Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda. The series is known for lining race routes with live bands, cheerleaders and themed water stations.
Events
There are 31 events in the Rock 'n' Roll Series spanning 9 countries. In 2012, Competitor Group organized its first marathon outside North America when it acquired the organizing rights for the Madrid (Spain) Marathon.
Marathons and Half Marathons
- Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon & 1/2 Marathon â€" Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona and Scottsdale, Arizona
- Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon â€" Brooklyn, NY
- Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon â€" Chicago, Illinois
- Rock 'n' Roll Dallas Half Marathon â€" Dallas, Texas
- Rock 'n' Roll DC Marathon & Half Marathon â€" Washington, D.C.
- Rock 'n' Roll Denver Half Marathon â€" Denver, CO
- Rock 'n' Roll Dublin Half Marathon â€" Dublin, Ireland
- Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon & 1/2 Marathon â€" Las Vegas
- Rock ‘n’ Roll Lisbon Marathon â€" Lisbon, Portugal
- Rock 'n' Roll Liverpool Marathon & 1/2 Marathon â€" Liverpool, England
- Rock 'n' Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon â€" Los Angeles
- Maratón de Rock ‘n’ Roll Madrid â€" Madrid, Spain
- Rock 'n' Roll Merida - [Mérida, Yucatán]
- Rock 'n' Roll Mexico City - [Mexico City]
- Marathon Oasis de Montreal â€" Montreal, Canada
- Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Marathon & 1/2 Marathon â€" Nashville, Tennessee
- Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon & 1/2 Marathon â€" New Orleans, Louisiana
- Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon â€" Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Rock 'n' Roll Queretaro Marathon and 1/2 Marathon -Querétaro
- Rock 'n' Roll Raleigh Marathon & 1/2 Marathon â€" Raleigh, NC
- Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon & 1/2 Marathon â€" San Antonio, Texas
- Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon & 1/2 Marathon â€" San Diego, California
- Rock 'n' Roll San Francisco 1/2 Marathon - [San Francisco, CA]
- Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon â€" San Jose, California
- Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon and 1/2 Marathon - Savannah, Georgia
- Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon & 1/2 Marathon â€" Seattle, Washington
- Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Marathon & 1/2 Marathon â€" St. Louis, Missouri
- Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon â€" Virginia Beach, Virginia
Past Events
- Rock 'n' Roll Cleveland 1/2 Marathon(2013) - Cleveland, OH
- Rock 'n' Roll Denver Marathon(2010-2015) - Denver, CO
- Rock 'n' Roll Miami Beach 1/2 Marathon(2011-2012) - Miami Beach, FL
- Rock 'n' Roll New York 10K(2011-2013) - New York, NY
- Rock 'n' Roll Pasadena 1/2 Marathon(2012-2013) - Pasadena, CA
- Rock 'n' Roll Pittsburgh 1/2 Marathon(Cancelled before event) - Pittsburgh, PA
- Rock 'n' Roll Providence 1/2Marathon(2011-2013) - Providence, RI
- Rock 'n' Roll Portland 1/2 Marathon(2012-2015) - Portland, OR
- Rock 'n' Roll St. Petersburg 1/2 Marathon(2012-2013) - St. Petersburg, Fl
- Rock 'n' Roll Vancouver Half Marathon (2014-2016) - Vancouver, B.C.
Charity controversies
In 2008, the Competitor Group took over Elite Racing, the company that had been organizing the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. The following year, 2009, an internal audit revealed that the charity in whose name the race had been run, Elite Racing Foundation for Children, Education & Medical Research, had been improperly commingling funds with the for-profit Elite Racing. It further found that the foundation was being operated "in many instances for the benefit of the for-profit,†and that the charity's role in hosting the races had been overstated. As a result, the race had benefited improperly from hundreds of thousands of dollars in public subsidies and grants. In announcing the results of the audit, Competitor said it would return $190,500 to San Diego County and $152,544 to the city of San Diego, spend the remaining foundation funds on health and wellness causes, file amended tax returns, and dissolve the foundation. Competitor Group made the final payments in October 2009. Altogether the company returned $344,176 to the city and county.
In September 2014 Saint Louis University School of Law professor Yvette Joy Liebesman sued Competitor Group, alleging a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act in the handling of volunteers for the October 2012 race in St. Louis. The class-action lawsuit claims the company partners with charities to create a “a veneer for recruiting free labor†but the race events are for-profit and do not serve a charitable purpose under the law. The company asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit, but this was denied, allowing the suit to go forward.
References
External links
- Official website
