Marathon Will Draw Crowd to Little Rock March 15

by Philip Seaton

They run or they walk but when everything is said and done, Geneva Hampton wants to make sure they come back.

The seventh annual Little Rock Marathon will take place on Sunday, March 15, with more than 9,000 runners and walkers expected to take over the streets of the Capital City for one of the many races within the big race.

Hampton, who is an executive director of the Little Rock Marathon along with Gina Marchese Pharis, has been part of the race since its inception.

"When we started it, we knew it would be successful," Hampton said. "We are very passionate about the Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department, the beneficiary. We are written up around the world and compared to [similar events in] Chicago and New York. It's not just Dallas and Memphis."

While it's too late to enter the Little Rock Marathon, Hampton expects 25,000 to 30,000 people to watch the race.

"It gets better and better every year," she said. "People have no idea until they see it. They go, 'Oh my gosh, I have to see this every year,' or go 'Oh my gosh, I have to enter this next year.'"

The field for the full marathon, which will cover 26.2 miles and....