July 16, 2004

There is still time to enter the lottery to be one of only 300 Michiganians to join Governor Granholm in the first-ever “fun run” across the Mackinac Bridge on Monday, September 6 (Labor Day).

Organizers are hoping for at least one participant from each of Michigan’s 83 counties. At present time, 33 counties are still without representation. To see if your county is on the list, please go to www.michiganfitness.org.

For each of Michigan’s 83 counties with a representative in the lottery, at least one resident will be picked to be his or her county’s “fitness ambassador.”

As ambassador, he or she will be invited to participate in special events associated with the Labor Day Bridge Walk and receive recognition from the governor. The remaining 217 runners will be randomly selected by the Governor’s Council from the Web lottery.

The 300 joggers will begin their race just moments prior to the start of the traditional Labor Day Bridge Walk that hosted more than 58,000 people in 2003. All runners must be pre-registered and pre-qualified to participate. Beyond those pre-registered for the fun run, absolutely no running will be allowed on the bridge.

A Web-based lottery has been set up to select the 300 participants, who must all have participated prior to July 30 in at least one event endorsed by the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports. A current list of endorsed events is also available on the Governor’s Council Web site.

Participants in endorsed events from August 1, 2004 through July 30, 2005 will qualify for the lottery for the 2005 bridge run. The run is not a timed event and will not be certified for distance. To enter the lottery for a chance to participate in the event, runners from endorsed races must pre-register at the Governor’s Council Web site, www.michiganfitness.org.

Deadline to enter is July 30, 2004. Only one lottery entry is permitted per person, regardless of the number of endorsed events in which entrants participate.

Complete rules are available online. Runners will be selected in early August and notified in writing. There is no registration fee. Sponsors of the event include the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports, Farm Bureau Insurance, and the Michigan Department of Community Health.