In less than 24 hours after registration opened, the 8th Annual Murfreesboro Half Marathon (“The Middle Half”) reached its cap of 3,250 participants.

“Due to last year’s fast sellout of just over two hours, we added 250 more spots to the field of athletes,” said Melinda Tate, race director. “This gave participants more time to register this year.”

Over 700 runners signed up in the first five minutes causing The Middle Half website to briefly shut down.

“Simply put, our server thought we were being attacked,” said Tate. “After five minutes the site was up and running again.”

The Middle Half will be held October 11, 2014. Since its inception in 2007, the race has more than tripled in size. Twenty-four states are represented with the majority being from Tennessee. There are still volunteer opportunities available.

Sponsors include The City of Murfreesboro, Murfreesboro Parks & Recreation Department, Fleet Feet Sports, Middle Tennessee State University, Purity, AdamsPlace, Backer-Springfield, Beaman Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, Lee Company, The Daily News Journal, The Murfreesboro Post, Murfreesboro Magazine, Murfreesboro.com and WGNS.

For more information, visit www.TheMiddleHalf.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheMiddleHalf.