On Friday August 31st Labor Day my wife, daughter and I drove to Virginia Beach for the Rock & Roll Half Marathon which is held there each year. My daughter Kerry has been running in this event since it started in 2001. We have been going to the event for five years straight to support her. Over 17,000 runners and 13,000 family members and friends show up for the event.

The city provides great entertainment on the beach and the support to the visitors is remarkable. The City uses most of their buses to transport runners and supporters back and forth from parking areas which are some distance away at no costs. Their police department provides excellent crowd control and assistance along with closing off main thorough fares for the runners and the buses. The Sanitation department starts there cleanup as soon as the race is over, returning a beautiful city into its normal clean look. Medical support folks are incredible along with thousands of volunteers that provide all kinds of services and support. UPS provides trucks and volunteers to store personal items for the Runners. Hundreds of potty's are placed throughout the running areas.

I'm sure there are many others who deserve credit for making this event a success, but speaking for myself and family I really appreciate every ones effort and participation.

I look forward to returning in 2008.

Regards,

Paul Lastra