Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon Debuts Live GPS Tracking

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 18, 2013) – When the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon sets sail April 28, nearly 25,000 participants will take to the roads in what has become the most anticipated sporting event in the state. There will be 5K walkers to full marathon runners, and yet another dimension makes its debut at the race-GPS tracking. US Fleet Tracking, an Oklahoma City-based manufacturer of GPS tracking devices, will supply live GPS technology to the marathon.

US Fleet Tracking will equip the marathon with more than 50 GPS tracking devices, allowing for marathon officials to instantaneously see how event buses are moving around race paths and within the city, so if need be, bus re-route changes can be made instantaneously based on where the largest volume of participants, volunteers and spectators are located. Also, with the company’s web-based system, lead runner vehicles will be monitored start to finish.

“We’re thrilled to work with US Fleet tracking during the OKC Memorial Marathon. By using their product on our transportation busses, it will allow us to communicate better with runners and track the timing as we begin to plan for future years,” says Kari Watkins, Executive Director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. “We’re also testing their devices to track runners along the course and are excited to be piloting a program that may become a standard for our race.”

“US Fleet Tracking’s pride and commitment in the community is an aspect of our success we value as much as any”, says president and co-founder Cindy Hunter. “The marathon represents the very best our state has to offer, and we’re glad to lend our technology-and some runners-to this great cause.”

Offering a Kids’ marathon, 5K Memorial Walk, 5-person relay, along with the half and full marathon distances, the race has grown exponentially since it’s inaugural in 2001. Logistically, this poses extra issues such as course monitoring to moving relay team participants to transporting runners to and from hotels.

Known for one of the most memorable scenes in all of marathoning, the starting line at Oklahoma City is both poignant and uplifting, as runners stand perfectly silent for 168 seconds, honoring each life lost in the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. The Oklahoma City streets then fill with humanity, as the race hosts runners from all 50 states and about 10 foreign countries. This year may reach capacity at all distances for the first time in race history.

Benefitting the Oklahoma City National Memorial, marathon proceeds now represent the largest single donation to the Memorial each year, and make up a great percentage of funds used for sustaining and operating the Memorial.

US Fleet Tracking’s participation at the race, now classified a destination marathon to runners countrywide and beyond, furthers the company’s growing list of marquis sporting events with which it partners. Its GPS devices and technology have been present every Super Bowl since 2007, the 2010 Calgary Winter Olympics, the 2012 Summer Olympiad in London, and most recently, the NCAA’s 2013 Final Four in Atlanta.

The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon began in 2001 as a way to honor those affected by the Murrah Federal Building bombing April 19, 1995 in Oklahoma City. It’s now known as the Run to Remember, and “Runner’s World” magazine recognized the race, after only three years in existence, as one of the 12 Must Run marathons in the world.

US Fleet Tracking is the leader in live GPS vehicle and asset tracking, providing groundbreaking sub-ten-second live tracking. In addition to expertise in tracking commercial vehicles, the company has provided tracking services to high-profile, large-scale public events. These include the 2010 Winter Olympics in Calgary, 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, 2012 Republican National Convention, and Super Bowls XLI through XLVII. For more in-depth details, and to access a live demonstration of US Fleet Tracking’s system while in motion, visit https://www.usfleettracking.com.

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