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Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon Postponed

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A half-marathon scheduled to take place in August has been postponed.

The Rock 'n' Roll Pittsburgh Half-Marathon was expected to bring millions of dollars into the Pittsburgh economy, but it seems there is some controversy over the event.

It was announced last summer that the event would be coming to Pittsburgh with thousands of runners hitting the streets to rock on.

"They are going to have a great, the music is going to be good, but they are going to get a great view and a great understanding of the city of Pittsburgh," Race Promoter Lynn Swann said.

Unfortunately, that won't be happening after all. The city sighted safety concerns for the runners in August heat in their decision to postpone the event.

"There were a total of 14,000 people to come in for the race itself, half of which were expected to be from out of town," Visit Pittsburgh President and CEO Craig Davis said.

Runners are not happy at all and took to the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Facebook page to vent their frustrations.

"We were all set for a great trip to the "Burgh"..Pirate Game, see family and enjoy the beautiful city. We were in Nashville this past weekend...great job! The Pittsburgh 'fumble' makes you guys look bad," Ed Billick said.

"Upset and disappointed. Already bought two plane tickets which are non-refundable from Orlando," Nicholas Mullins said.

"This is extremely disappointing and frustrating as we had family coming in from Florida to run this with us," Shannon leonard said.

Davis said this event was expected to have a big impact on the local economy as well.

"It has a direct spending on the city of $7.9 million, so we don't lose the opportunity going forward," Davis said. "We feel very positive moving forward that we can find a date that suits both the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and the City of Pittsburgh."

If you are one of the thousands who have already sent money in for the Pittsburgh event, you can get a refund. All you have do is ask for one or you can apply the money to any of the other marathon events around the world.

RELATED LINKS

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Rock 'n' Roll Pittsburgh Half-Marathon

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