If you’re not familiar with the concept of the Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon Series, which arrived in Raleigh for the first time last year, it’s mostly self-explanatory: Several thousand runners complete a half marathon or the full 26.2-mile course, passing bands every mile or two as they move along. When the run is done, participants drink the beer of a selected sponsor at a headlining concert featuring some has-been or might-be.
Last year’s inaugural Rock ’n’ Roll in Raleigh invoked a sea of criticism, from those lamenting how the series is more about profits than fitness and others who rightfully griped that the city gave special concessions to this event instead of many homegrown races. (Though I disagree with some of his points, R.L. Bynum has done a nice job chronicling these woes over the last year.) WRAL’s fawning media coverage and two deaths on the course, which I wrote about here, didn’t help.
This year, organizers have flattened the route due to complaints from runners. They’ve ostensibly taken another criticism to heart, in that few knew who last year’s post-race headliners, the Danish band New Politics, actually were. Instead, they’ve plucked one from the has-been category: Smash Mouth, who last broke the Top 25 stateside in 2001 with “I’m a Believer,” will lead the party at the finish line.
Wait, I thought the goal of these things was to actually finish?
I’m running this thing in a few months, but I think I’ll be too tired at the finish line to deal with being called an all-star.
The complete copy of the announcement, which is too heavy on terrible puns to go unread, is below:
Smash Mouth will get you feeling like an “All-Star” when you cross that finish line! “We’ve got so many hits on this new record it’s ridiculous” says Smash Mouth lead singer Steve Harwell. Harwell oughta know a thing or two about hit songs. Smash Mouth, the band that’s given you such memorable songs as “All-Star,” “Walkin’ on the Sun,” “Then the Morning Comes,” and “I’m a Believer,” is back for more season-of-the-sun fun with their vibrant new CD “MAGIC”.
