FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ING New York City Marathon Adds Community Charity Program and Aims To
Raise More Than $24 Million For the November 7 Race
A record 185 charities will be represented by more than 6,500 runners for
the 40th anniversary of the world's greatest road race
New York, June 24, 2010-Former Grand Slam tennis mixed-doubles champion
Justin Gimelstob and retired NFL star Amani Toomer will be running to
raise money as part of the official and expanding ING New York City
Marathon 2010 charity program, it was announced today by New York Road
Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
Gimelstob, a two-time mixed-doubles champion with partner Venus Williams at
the 1998 French and Australian Open, will run for his charity, the
Children's Fund. Former New York Giant and Super Bowl champion Toomer will
be partnering with Timex to raise funds for the New York Road Runners Youth
and Community Services programs.
"Running a marathon has always been on my bucket list of things to do, and
I have no idea what to expect," said Gimelstob. "Tennis players don't
usually do a lot of long-distance running, so this will be a considerable
physical and emotional challenge, but I am not doing it for my own
satisfaction, but for the kids and as a philanthropic effort."
With the addition of a new community charity program representing 100
charities and an already strong roster of gold, silver, and bronze charity
partners, the ING New York City Marathon 2010 aims to raise more than the
$24 million that was raised in 2009.This would bring the total raised
through New York Road Runners charity programs to more than $100 million
since the programs' inception in 1995 (including money raised through the
NYC Half-Marathon).
"The ING New York City Marathon is about more than running," said
Wittenberg. "The event will make a tremendous impact not only on the
runners and the city, but also on the many lives that will be affected
through the money raised as part of the charity program."
In addition to the Children's Fund, other charity partners include The
Fresh Air Fund, which provides free summer experiences to 10,000 New York
City children from low-income communities each summer; and Broadway Impact,
a grassroots organization of the theater community and its fans, mobilizing
support of marriage equality. The Fresh Air Fund has partnered with the NYC
Half-Marathon for the past four years; this marks the first time that
Broadway Impact has been affiliated with any race.
Last year, the ING New York City Marathon created three charity
levels-gold, silver, and bronze-which represented 85 charities. Benefits
for the various levels range from guaranteed entries and promotion from
NYRR to transportation and a charity village tent at the start. Gold-level
charity partners include Team for Kids, Fred's Team, and NYRR Champion's
Circle. U.S. Fund for UNICEF is listed as at the silver level, and bronze
partners include the Harlem United Community AIDS Center, Central Park
Conservancy, the American Red Cross, and Gilda's Club.
A list of current 2010 charity partners is available at
www.ingnycmarathon.org/charities.
New York Road Runners
Headquartered in New York City, New York Road Runners is dedicated to
advancing the sport of running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and
meeting our community's needs. Our goal is to use the expertise acquired in
our 52-year history to empower all people to live fitter, healthier lives
through participation in our races, community events, instruction and
training resources, and youth programs. Our races and other events draw
more than 300,000 people each year. The ING New York City Marathon, NYRR's
premier event, is the largest and most inclusive marathon in the world,
attracting the world's top professional runners every year and raising
nearly $25 million for charity in 2009. NYRR's running-based youth
programs, which currently serve more than 100,000 children in hundreds of
schools and community centers, promote children's health and fitness,
character development, and personal achievement in underserved communities.
For more information, visit www.nyrr.org.
The ING New York City Marathon
The premier event of New York Road Runners, the ING New York City Marathon
is one of the world's great road races, drawing nearly 105,000 applicants.
The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the
more than $600,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel in the
media capital of the world before two million cheering spectators and a
worldwide broadcast reach of 330 million. As any one of the more than
830,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central
Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime. For more information, visit
www.ingnycmarathon.org.
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