By Carley Bine, Staff Writer

St. Louis hosts the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon every October. The races include a full marathon (26.2 miles), a half marathon (13.1 miles), a two person half marathon relay, and a mini marathon (5k).  The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon is different from other races because at every mile, there is a local band playing to motivate the runners. Some of the bands that played this year were Featherstone, Laser Panther, Old Salt Union, Sarah Jane and Blue Note, and Surrender Dorothy. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon holds try outs every year for any band that would like to play for the race.

What also makes the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon different is that with the help of the Quinn Family Foundation, every year and in each State, a new charity is picked and all proceeds go to that charity. This year, the charity was TASK. TASK stands for Team Activities for Special Kids. TASK is a not-for-profit organization that provides kids with special needs social and athletic activities. TASK has been building self –esteem and many important skills since 1996.

The winners of the full marathon, for the men it was Charles Beiseman from De Soto, MO, he finished the race in 2 hours 39 minutes. Emily Kurlan from Madison WI came in first for the women in a time of 2 hours 50 minutes. The first place winners for the half marathon race were, for the men Michael Aitan from Saint Ann, MO at a time of 1 hour 10 minutes. Dani Fisher came in first for the women she is from Wausau, WI, her time was 1 hour 18 minutes.

If anyone is interested in running in a half marathon or full marathon and you don’t want to wait till next October,  the Go St. Louis Marathon and half marathon is coming up April 6 which gives you just enough time to start thinking about training. The Go St. Louis Marathon is located in downtown St. Louis and along the way you will see many beautiful sights, like Busch Brewery, Forest Park, and many more.