By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

Route 66 has a long and colorful history of foot races, and it’s going to have another.

On Friday, the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau unveiled its plan to launch the Route 66 Mother Road Marathon on Oct. 3, 2009. This will be a certified event, meaning that participants will be able to qualify for the Boston or New York marathons.

The marathon will start in Miami, Okla., and conclude in Joplin, a distance of 26.2 miles.

“This will be a major undertaking for everyone involved,’’ said Vince Lindstrom, head of the bureau. “The unique advantage we have is that the participants will literally be able to run in three states on Route 66, the Mother Road.’’

David Knudson, director of the National Historic Route 66 Federation in Lake Arrowhead, Calif., said, “There is no other place along the route that you can do that. That would be unique.’’

Knudson welcomed the marathon.

“The more the merrier,” he said. “There literally have been hundreds of marathons, bicycle races, car races and even wheelchair races along the route over the years, but most of those have been fund-raisers for charities. This one and the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa are the only two that I see on the calendar for 2009.

“I think Joplin could use it. A closer involvement with the road would be economically good for Joplin — definitely.’’

Knudson said Tulsa and Albuquerque, N.M., at one time had no interest in the route, but that has changed. “There is a now a dramatic interest in the road because they see the value of it (in terms of tourism). Tulsa is even talking about a major museum,’’ he said. “And, we’re seeing more interest in Joplin.’’

The Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, launched in 2006, attracted 1,638 athletes when it was held in November. The 2009 race in Tulsa will be held six weeks after the Route 66 Mother Road Marathon.

The Kansas Historic Route 66 Association Half-Marathon, now in its 15th year, runs 13.1 miles from the Missouri state line to the Oklahoma state line. It will take place two months after the local marathon. It attracted about 60 runners this year, said Scott Nelson, with Eisler Brothers Old Riverton Store along Route 66 in Riverton, Kan.

“We have had as many as 100 runners,” Nelson said. “I don’t see this as a conflict. Runners look for places to run and most of them have a calendar where they mark all the races they want to run,’’ he said. “Our runners come mostly from Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma.’’

The half marathon is a fund-raising event for the state association, which Nelson heads.