The P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon started downtown for the first time Sunday, bringing more people to businesses in the area.
The full marathon started from CityScape and took runners through Phoenix and Scottsdale. Participants crossed the finish line in Tempe on Packard Drive between Arizona State University’s Sun Angel and Sun Devil Stadiums. Runners started the race at 7:30 am.
The starting lines were changed from last year’s course in order to “increase convenience and make the race more enjoyable for runners and also to make the courses somewhat less crowded,” said Amana Miyamae, P.F. Chang’s marathon spokeswoman.
“We hope (participants) utilize the public transportation available,” Miyamae said.
Valley Metro supported the marathoners by offering enhanced service Sunday morning. Light rail trains ran every ten minutes, rather than the normally scheduled twenty minutes, to help racers make it to the start line.
“Our goal is to serve our riders so we are keeping the lines open for our everyday riders, but also helping to get the racers quickly and conveniently to their starting lines,” Valley Metro Spokeswoman Hillary Foose said.
Local Phoenix businesses hoped to benefit from the influx of people downtown, but some businesses were worried extra people didn’t necessarily mean more revenue.
Einstein Bros. Bagels took advantage of the morning crowds and brought out to-go boxes filled with snacks. CVS Pharmacy, which opened before the starting gun, benefited as runners picked up last minute necessities.
While he was hoping to do more business, Eric Bennett, manager of Breakfast Club located off Central Avenue in CityScape, wasn’t sure runners would want a large breakfast before running 26.2 miles.
In fact, with his wife having run a half marathon in the past, Bennett knew racers were more likely to eat at the finish line rather than before the race.
He did hope for increased business from supporters and opened the restaurant an hour earlier to target them.
“It’s kind of a coin toss,” Bennett said of his shop getting more business.
Contact the reporter at agames@asu.edu
