New York Road Runners Offers New Elements for ING New York City Marathon 2008

October 29, 2008 from press release (New York NY) Wave starts, expanded split timing for all runners, more green initiatives, and added on-course entertainment are some of the featured new elements put in place by New York Road Runners for the 39th running of the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday November 2. More than 39,000 participants and millions of spectators are expected for the 26.2-mile, five-borough spectacle.

Celebrating 50 Years: Great Moments in New York Road Runners History
New York Road Runners will honor its past with the announcement of the top five Great Moments in New York Road Runners History. The moments were chosen by fan vote as part of a yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of NYRR. The fans selected their favorite from a list of 15 NYRR Great Moments that had been compiled by a panel of journalists and NYRR officials.

A countdown of the top five Great Moments is taking place during ING New York City Marathon race week, with one Moment announced daily. Each announcement will feature guest appearances from running legends associated with the top Moment. New York Road Runners will also feature in each of the news releases the perspective of journalists who covered the races. All news releases will be available at http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/media .

Everyone can join in the 50th anniversary celebration at the annual Poland Spring Marathon Eve Fireworks on Saturday, November 1, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Spectators can enjoy a spectacular fireworks display choreographed to music, immediately followed by the number “50” in the sky ushered in by the singing of “Happy Anniversary to New York Road Runners.”

At the Start: NYRR Institutes Wave Starts; Opera Singer Neal E. Boyd to Sing National Anthem

In one of the most significant changes since 1976 when the race was expanded to all five boroughs, this year’s marathon will feature wave starts on the famed Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Staten Island . The new plan calls for three waves, each utilizing all three existing starting lines. The first wave of the open field will begin at 9:40 a.m. and two additional waves will follow at 10:00 and 10:20. The professional women will still begin the race before the rest of the field; this year they will start 30 minutes earlier, at 9:10 a.m. Runners in each wave are expected to clear the start in no more than six minutes. Complete information on the wave starts is available at http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/entrantinfo/startservices.php .

Opera singer Neal Boyd is sure to inspire all of Staten Island—and parts of Brooklyn as well—with his beautiful, yet powerful voice, when he sings the televised performance of the “Star Spangled Banner” prior to the start of the professional men’s race and the first wave of runners at 9:40 a.m. Boyd is a tenor who received 14 million first-place votes in the finals of this summer’s “America’s Got Talent” to win the $1 million prize. Complete information on all the ways to watch the broadcast of the race is available at http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/about/coverage.php .

Along the Course: On-Course Enhancements and Entertainment
For the first time ever, race organizers will track splits of all participants for the race’s final 10 miles, beginning at mile 16 when runners exit the Queensboro Bridge onto First Avenue in Manhattan , until mile 26, within sight of the famed finish line at Tavern on the Green in Central Park . Split times will be captured via the ChampionChip® system and will be logged on NYRR’s Athlete Tracker application. Complete results will be available at http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/results .

The spectator experience has always been the centerpiece of the ING New York City Marathon. Now, the experience has just gotten better for a stretch in Harlem when runners are pushing through miles 22 and 23. New York Road Runners and the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce have joined forces to expand on “The Harlem Mile,” incorporating entertainment zones and stages at three key locations along Fifth Avenue . The stage at 135th Street will feature live Gospel; the stage at 125th Street will incorporate the sounds of both the Motown and Stax eras as well as today’s R&B; and 117th Street will include Latin and Caribbean music.

The highlight of The Harlem Mile will be the first-ever grand celebration at Mt. Morris Park West between 124th and 120th streets. The area will have VIP seating for guests and live performances from a variety of artists.

More information on The Harlem Mile initiative will be available online at http://www.ingnycmarathon.org . Additionally, for the complete picture on the entire spectator experience, a comprehensive viewing guide is available at http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/about/spectator.php.

Going Green
New York Road Runners is dedicated to promoting the health and sustainability of the environment by reducing waste, reusing resources, and recycling materials in its offices and at its races, and raising environmental awareness among its participants. This year, NYRR is working hard toward “greening” the ING New York City Marathon with the following eco-friendly practices; some have been in place prior to 2008 and others are new this year:

* Expanded recycling program will include the Barilla Marathon Eve Dinner and the start and finish locations.
* Clothing discarded at the Fort Wadsworth staging area and start is donated to charity.
* Portable toilet units provided for the marathon are made from recycled material, and they utilize recycled paper products and environmentally friendly chemicals.
* Biodiesel generators provided by GreeNow Inc., will power most of this year’s finish line.
* Pedicabs provided by ING will offer complimentary rides to spectators from First Avenue to Fifth Avenue at multiple locations.
* Runners can help to offset their participation in the ING New York City Marathon by contributing to Million Trees NYC , a PLANYC initiative with NYC Parks and New York Restoration Project. Log on to http://MillionTreesNYC.org for more details

Going Green: By the Numbers
* At least 95 percent of the 105,000 applications for the ING New York City Marathon are submitted online.
* More than 8,000 participants will arrive in Staten Island via ferries that use an ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel.
* City Harvest expects to collect 3,500 pounds of unused food from the start.
* In partnership with the Department of Sanitation of New York and Poland Spring Natural Brand Spring Water, over 11 tons of cardboard and plastic were recycled along the course of the ING New York City Marathon 2007.
* This year, more than 90,000 Poland Spring water bottles from the start alone are expected to be recycled. The new eco-friendly Poland Spring water bottles are made with 30 percent less plastic than previous bottles.
* In 2007, five tons of waste was removed from the finish line alone. New to this year, almost all of the trash from the finish line will be sorted. Officials estimate that 80 percent of that waste will be recyclable.
* Biodiesel generators at this year’s finish line will reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 50 percent .

Sponsor Activation
This year’s race features numerous promotions and examples of exceptional sponsor partner activation. Fans can win a 2008 Toyota Prius by voting in the “Pick and Drive” sweepstakes at http://www.pickandrive.com for the men’s and women’s professional athletes they think will make the podium.

Food Emporium is offering special marathon savings at their 16 Manhattan locations, in addition to providing special offers on Marathon sponsor products plus a Marathon Sweepstakes to be drawn on November 7 with prizes from our sponsors.

In order to help runners fuel their bodies adequately before the big day, Barilla Pasta, the Italian Consulate and New York Road Runners have partnered to give people the opportunity to dine at participating restaurants on Barilla pasta “marathon” specials to help charity.

Emerald Nuts will be handing out healthy snacks along the last five miles of the course to provide fuel for spectators as they cheer runners on in their final push to the finish line.

New for 2008, NYRR has partnered with RunningPins.com to create the inaugural line of ING New York City Marathon trading pins. The pins will be sold at the ING New York City Marathon Health and Fitness Expo, the Marathon Monday Store, and the online Marathon Store at http://www.nyrr.org .

More about these special opportunities is at http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/entrantinfo/opportunities.php .

Behind the Scenes at NYRR
Building on this year’s “What Does It Take?” advertising campaign theme, NYRR staff has provided an insider’s “behind the scenes” look at the organization’s preparations on its own blog, “Marathon Moments.” Staff members have blogged on a variety of topics, including a post from “Handbook Maven” on the massive effort it takes to put together the Official Handbook, to the parallels “Web Guy Ed” draws between the ’80s hit movie St. Elmo’s Fire and NYRR, to daily Better Know a Pro posts from “Samo.” Mary Wittenberg also frequently shares her thoughts. Read the blog at http://ingnycmarathon.wordpress.com/ .

New York Road Runners
New York Road Runners is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2008. NYRR is dedicated to promoting the sport of distance running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and responding to community needs. Our road races and other fitness programs draw upwards of 300,000 runners annually, and together with our magazine and website support and promote professional and recreational running. A staff of more than 100, assisted by thousands of volunteers, stages the ING New York City Marathon, as well as a road race nearly every weekend plus many track and cross country events. NYRR’s home base in New York , and its lifelong identification with Central Park , have given many of its events iconic status, attracting the world’s top professional runners . Our youth programs provide running to 50,000 schoolchildren in New York City and around the country who would otherwise have few or no fitness opportunities. 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 more than 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 more than 300 million worldwide television viewers. As any one of some 750,000 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 .

World Marathon Majors
The ING New York City Marathon is one of five events in the World Marathon Majors series, which showcases the sport’s top athletes and awards an unprecedented $1 million champions’ prize. The WMM series also includes the Boston Marathon, the Flora London Marathon, the real,- Berlin Marathon, and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. For more information, visit www.worldmarathonmajors.com .