New York, October 30, 2014—New York Road Runners President and CEO Mary Wittenberg and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio honored Teianna Reed of Archimedes Academy in the Bronx and Miles Bernstein of P.S. 321 in Brooklyn with the 2014 NYRR Youth Running Ambassador of the Year awards at a press conference on Thursday, October 30 at the TCS New York City Marathon Race-week Media Center at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York.

The two youngsters are part of NYRR Young Runners, a free after-school program where kids learn to run distances of up to four miles while training together after the school day.  Over 2,500 students in nearly 100 schools throughout New York City’s five boroughs participate in the NYRR Young Runners program. Overall, more than 200,000 students are served annually through a variety of free NYRR youth running programs, events, and resources, including more than 120,000 in New York City’s five boroughs..

Each summer, a small group of Young Runners, like Teianna and Miles, sign up for a free workshop series that teaches them how to become NYRR Youth Running Ambassadors.  They study speechwriting, public speaking, and casual conversation with adults.  When the workshop is over, the Ambassadors are invited to attend and speak about their running experiences at special events throughout the year.

Teianna and Miles were selected as the 2014 NYRR Youth Running Ambassadors of the Year because of their participation, enthusiasm, and dedication to running. Teianna, a seventh grader at Archimedes Academy in the Bronx who started running when she was 10 years old says, “Running is important to me because it’s challenging and fun” and “it’s all about your mind set and not how fast you are.” Miles, a sixth grader at P.S. 321 in Brooklyn, says he loves running because it’s “healthy, fun, and gives me the opportunity to meet new people.”

Both Teianna and Miles will also be involved with the NBA All-Star Relay at the TCS New York City Marathon. To highlight the importance of physical activity and promote healthy living for kids and families, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is teaming up with New York Road Runners for the first-ever marathon relay on Sunday, November 2.

Teianna will be involved with Leg 14 of the relay, making the journey over the Queensborough Bridge from Queens to Manhattan with ABC/ESPN and New York Knicks broadcaster Mike Breen. Miles will be running Leg 6 of the relay with New York legend and Brooklyn native Bernard King.

The TCS New York City Marathon will air live in New York on ABC7 and nationally on ESPN2 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST. The race will also be available via WatchESPN on computers, tablets, smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360, and Xbox One for those who have video subscriptions from affiliated providers. The race will also be available in Spanish via ESPN Deportes+. Pre- and post-race coverage will be carried on ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network ESPN3 from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. EST and from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. EST. ESPN3 will also present a view of the finish line from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The race will be broadcast live in the New York City metropolitan area on WABC-TV from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST. Viewers can also watch race-day coverage on 7online or via WatchABC on mobile devices (for participating cable providers). Pre-race features from the start at Fort Wadsworth will be broadcast live at 7:00 a.m. on WABC-TV, 7online.com, and WatchABC. A national compilation show will air from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on local ABC affiliates. International viewers can watch the broadcast from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST via a variety of global broadcast partners (international viewers should check local listings).

Last year, 50,266 runners crossed the finish line of the New York City Marathon, making it the world’s largest marathon ever. Runners from more than 100 countries and each of the 50 states participated.

New York Road Runners and the TCS New York City Marathon

The TCS New York City Marathon is the most popular and inclusive marathon in the world, attracting the world’s top professional athletes and a vast range of recreational runners. The race began in 1970 with just 127 entrants racing four laps of Central Park. Today, an estimated 50,000 runners from around the world tour New York City’s five boroughs.. Millions of fans cheer the runners from the streets and watch the global television broadcast. The race is part of the World Marathon Majors, an alliance of the world’s six most important marathons that each year determines the world’s top male and top female marathoner. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, is the Premier Partner of NYRR and is in its inaugural year as title sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon. To learn more, visit www.tcsnycmarathon.com.

The TCS New York City Marathon is the premier event of New York Road Runners. Founded in 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization, whose mission is to help and inspire people through running, to Run for Life. NYRR’s commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, community events, youth initiatives, school programs, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year, from children to seniors, with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to run for life.  More than 200,000 students are served locally and nationally through NYRR’s free youth running programs, events, and resources, including more than 120,000 in New York City’s five boroughs.. To learn more, visit www.nyrr.org.