FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thousands of New York City Students to Race Across the Finish Line
Ahead of the TCS New York City Marathon
More than 2,000 NYRR Team for Kids runners to race and raise funds for free
youth programming, led by celebrity and professional ambassadors
New York, October 31, 2018 - More than 2,000 young runners of all ages will
participate in free youth running events during race week of the 2018 TCS
New York City Marathon, including over 1,000 who will race to the finish
line on race day. New York Road Runners (NYRR) annually serves nearly
250,000 youth nationwide through free fitness programs and events
nationally, primarily its Rising New York Road Runners platform, and this
week the youth participants have the chance to race among the professional
runners.
"We are thrilled to once again invite thousands of youth runners to our
action-packed TCS New York City Marathon events," said Rachel Pratt, senior
vice president of youth and community services at NYRR. "The Rising New
York Road Runners, as well as other local students, will have the
opportunity to run alongside champions of the sport and along portions of
the iconic marathon course. We hope the excitement around this year’s
events will inspire them to keep running."
On Thursday, November 1, the 19th annual TCS Run with Champions will bring
together 1,000 Rising New York Road Runners with members of the TCS New
York City Marathon’s professional athlete fields including defending TCS
New York City Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor, 2018 Boston Marathon
champion Des Linden, and NYRR Ambassadors Jenny Simpson, Beverly Ramos, and
Meb Keflezighi. The event will feature a series of fun runs that start and
finish at the iconic finish line of the TCS New York City Marathon. For the
third year, the event features a youth wheelchair heat for the participants
in the Rising New York Road Runners Wheelchair Training Program to race
alongside Paralympic medalists and NYRR Team for Kids Ambassadors Tatyana
McFadden and Josh George.
On race day, Sunday, November 4, more than 1,000 youth runners will race in
the fourth annual Rising New York Road Runners Youth Invitational at the
TCS New York City Marathon. The kids, from across the tristate area, will
start in Central Park on the 72nd Street Transverse, race along the final
stretch of the marathon course, and finish at the finish line of the TCS
New York City Marathon. As the young runners cross the finish line, the
more than 50,000 marathon participants will be starting their 26.2-mile
course on Staten Island. More information on the Rising New York Road
Runners Youth Invitational at the TCS New York City Marathon can be found
here.
As part of the youth running festivities throughout race week, Team for
Kids Ambassador and defending TCS New York City Marathon champion Shalane
Flanagan will be honored at NYRR Night of Champions on Friday, November 2
for her commitment to NYRR’s free youth running and fitness programs.
Flanagan is an avid supporter of NYRR Run for the Future, NYRR’s college
scholarship program that introduces young women from across the city to the
sport of running. In her second year competing as a Team for Kids
Ambassador, Flanagan will return to the TCS New York City Marathon on
November 4 to defend her title.
Team for Kids is NYRR’s charity running team, which raises funds for NYRR’s
free youth running and fitness programs. In addition to Flanagan,
representing as Team for Kids Ambassadors in the 2018 TCS New York City
Marathon are professional athletes Keflezighi, McFadden, George, Molly
Huddle, and Jared Ward, former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber,
model and former professional rugby player Nick Youngquest, and
world-renowned chef Daniel Humm.
The 2018 TCS New York City Marathon will be televised on Sunday, November
4, on WABC-TV, Channel 7 in the New York tristate area from 9:00 a.m. to
2:00 p.m. ET, and for the rest of the nation on ESPN2 from 9:00 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. ET.
NYRR’s youth programs are supported by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the
premier partner of NYRR and NYRR youth and community programs and the title
sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon; New Balance, the Official
Athletic Footwear and Apparel Partner of NYRR; and the New Balance
Foundation. For more information on Rising New York Road Runners, please
visit rising.nyrr.org.
About the TCS New York City Marathon
The TCS New York City Marathon is the largest marathon in the world and the
signature event of New York Road Runners (NYRR), the world’s premier
community running organization. The race is held annually on the first
Sunday of November and includes over 50,000 runners, from the world’s top
professional athletes to runners of all ages and abilities, including over
9,000 charity runners. Participants from approximately 140 countries tour
the diverse neighborhoods of New York City’s five boroughs—Staten Island,
Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Race morning also features the
Rising New York Road Runners Youth Invitational at the TCS New York City
Marathon, a race within Central Park that finishes at the same finish line
being crossed hours later by the marathon field. More than one million
spectators and 10,000 volunteers line the city’s streets in support of the
runners, while millions more watch the globally televised broadcast. The
race is a founding member of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, which
features the world’s top marathons—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago,
and New York. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT
services, consulting, and business solutions organization, is the premier
partner of NYRR and the title sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon.
The 48th running of the TCS New York City Marathon is set for November 4,
2018. To learn more, visit www.tcsnycmarathon.org.
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