The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon is in its 30th year. The marathon will take place on Sunday, October 7th. 45,000 participants are anticipated to run in this year’s marathon. They have created a newly-designed site to meet the needs of their runners.

The website was originally designed to serve registration of 45,00 entries en mass. It was also designed to serve as a communications tool to give specifics about the event.

The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon decided to take the opportunity to raise the bar of the industry and develop a site that would not only further engage its audience, but reach out to non-runners alike with an opportunity to dial into the never-ending energy the Marathon generates, said Shawn Platt, LaSalle Bank’s Senior Vice President and Director of Brand Management and Sports Marketing

With the event approximately five weeks away, they are anticipating high-traffic at their site. The website has many new highlights:

There is imagery from the past 30 years of the marathon’s history. There is also information about training, preparation and actual race day.

Inspiration Bank offers visitors the opportunity to share their motivation, stories and tips through online diaries, runner essays, photo galleries, polls and top ten lists. In alliance with the emotional feel of the new design, the Inspiration Bank is another manner in which all involved runners, spectators and supporters have the ability to connect with the global Marathon community. Includes a variety of features such as a countdown clock, runner tracking, podcasts, online polling and video galleries.

The LaSalle Chicago Marathon has raised more than $27.5 million for numerous charities, including $9.3 in accordance with the 2006 alone.

Source: Runner’s Web and Triathlete’s Web

This year the organizers of the Denver Marathon have created an opportunity for runners to run with a favorite celebrity while helping those in need. The Denver Marathon Celebrity Inspiration Run will take place on a two-mile relay on the marathon course. The marathon occurs on Sunday, October 14th and the course runs through Denver, Colorado.

“With the Denver Marathon Celebrity Inspiration Run, the goal is to encourage everyday people to find the inspiration to run with someone they admire while benefiting a worthy charity,” race director Anton Villatoro said in a prepared statement.

Source: cbs4denver.com

The auction will be held online at the Denver Marathon website. It begins on September 28th and runs through October 7th. Funds raised will benefit the charity chosen by the celebrity. The runner will be invited to a motivational dinner the evening before the Denver Marathon.

Celebrities participating include: former Bronco Bill Romanowsk, CBS4 sportscaster Vic Lombardi, Scott Elrod of the TV drama “Men in Trees,” and Miss Colorado 2007 Maggie Ireland.

Jim Armbruster, a 60 year-old businessman began walking on May 6th and will walk from Illinois to California. He is raising money for Marklund, a charity that provides care for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Armbruster is personally connected to Marklund. His son, Nathan is developmentally disabled and is a resident of Marklund. Armbruster has donated both time and resources over the years to Marklund.

His campaign called “California or Bust for Marklund’s Kids” will end when he reaches the Golden Gate Bridge. He anticipates reaching the bridge the third week of October. Armbruster travels an average of twenty miles each day.

At night he sleeps in a motor coach driven by a friend. He walks a route during the day which follows major interstates. People can follow Armbruster’s journey by visiting his website to make a donation or to cheer him on.

So far he has raised $26,694. He hopes to raise more but he has not set a specific goal to target.