Eagle County Airport to Re-open-Romp the Runway
COMMUNITY INVITED TO ROMP THE RUNWAY ON AUG. 26
Vail Rec District Hosts Bicycle Sprint, 5k Fun Run and Children's Activities
(Eagle County)--Officials at the Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) are inviting the community to "Romp the Runway" from 4:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26. The event will celebrate the reopening of the airport to commercial air traffic and feature free music by local band Hardscrabble, a unique sprint-style bike race, a 5K fun run, a children's obstacle course, a "Paint the Plane" contest and a chalk aircraft drawing contest. With the exception of bike and running race registration, all activities are free. In addition, the Gypsum Fire Department will host a spaghetti dinner.
The Eagle County 9000, a first of its kind bike race, will allow cyclists to compete in a 9,000 foot, straight-line speed dash along the newly finished runway, before it's grooved and put into service. The race will be capped at 32 riders per category and includes two flights in each category, one female and one male flight. There will be a youth category for those ages 10 to 14, an open category, a vet category for ages 35 and older and an open cruiser bike category. The race will include a semi-final flight in each category followed by a final flight where the top four from each semi-final flight will race against each other. The youth bike race will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed the open, vet and cruiser bike categories at 6 p.m. The 5k fun run, which is open to all ages, also begins at 6 p.m. and could be considered the flattest fun run in the Rockies with virtually no elevation gain. All race participants will receive a commemorative T-shirt.
Race winners in each adult division will receive a free American Airlines voucher good for travel anywhere in the continental U.S., courtesy of American Airlines and Vail Resorts. All event attendees and race registrants will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for two air and luxury lodging trips to Chicago and Dallas, courtesy of Hyatt Hotels and American Airlines.
Registration for the bike and running races is available online by clicking here or www.active.com. Pre-registration is available until 5 p.m. Aug. 24 at $25 for adults and $15 for children. Race day registration will be available until 5 p.m. Aug. 26 at $35 for adults and $25 for children.
Romp the Runway is a joint effort of Air Planners, Inc., Eagle County, Eagle County Aviation Association, Eagle County Regional Airport, Eagle Valley Chamber of Commerce, Vail Valley Jet Center, Vail Recreation District (VRD), Vail Resorts, Inc., and Vail Valley Partnership.
Sponsors include American Airlines, Eagle Air Alliance (FlyVail.com), KZYR, Mountain Beverage, NRC Broadcasting, Park Hyatt, TV8, Vail Daily and West Vail Liquor Mart.
This summer's closure of the main runway at EGE allowed for the completion of its runway extension and maintenance project and will bring increased safety and passenger capacity to the facility. EGE, which serves 440,000 passengers annually, is estimated to contribute more than $982 million to the local economy each year. The airport employs 625 full time equivalent positions between airline, car rental, ground transportation, concessionaires, Vail Valley Jet Center, airport administration and security operations personnel. More than $6.4 million in state and local taxes are paid by airport tenants each year.
The airport will reopen on Sept. 1 with service from Dallas/Ft. Worth on American Airlines and from Denver on United Express. The full winter schedule, with service to 13 major airports on four airlines, begins in mid-December and is available for booking now at www.flyvail.com.
For general information about the Romp the Runway event, contact Kris Friel, communications director for Eagle County at 970.328.8617 or kris.friel@eaglecounty.us . For details on the race events, contact the VRD Sports Department at 970.479.2280 or at sportsgroup@vailrec.com.
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