Top Pros Running in 2015 United Airlines NYC Half to Train with Students and Preview Race on Thursday, March 12 at Noon
| WHAT: |
World-class runners and wheelchair athletes—including Meb Keflezighi, Molly Huddle, and Tatyana McFadden—competing in the 2015 United Airlines NYC Half will join students in NYRR’s Mighty Milers and Young Runners youth running programs in a special youth running clinic. Athletes will join the students as they participate in the group’s warm-ups, running, and stretching routines. Mighty Milers and Young Runners participants will also receive signed athlete autograph cards and take part in a brief Q&A session with the athletes. The youth running clinic will be followed by the professional athletes’ official pre-race media availability. Five of P.S. 452’s Young Runners who will be participating in the Times Square Kids’ Run at the United Airlines NYC Half on Sunday, March 15, will also be available for interviews. Some of the students will be competing in the Times Square Kids’ Run—a free, 1500-meter race along Seventh Avenue and through Times Square. An expected 1,000 youth runners, including 700 NYRR Young Runners, will compete in the high school, middle school, and elementary school divisions alongside the world’s top professional athletes and runners of all ranks participating in the United Airlines NYC Half. |
| WHEN: |
Thursday, March 12, 12:00 p.m. |
|
WHERE: |
P.S. 452, Manhattan 100 West 77th Street New York, NY 10024 School entrance located halfway between Columbus Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue on the south side of 77th Street |
| WHO: |
Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of New York Road Runners Nathan O’Reilly, P.S. 452 NYRR Mighty Milers and Young Runners Site Coordinator 25 students in NYRR’s Mighty Milers and Young Runners youth running programs Professional Athletes Molly Huddle, 30, of Providence RI, 5000-meter American record-holder Sally Kipyego, 29, of Kenya, defending women’s champion Desiree Linden, 31, of Washington, MI, 2012 Olympian Tatyana McFadden, 25, of Clarksville, MD, two-time marathon Grand Slam champion Meb Keflezighi, 39, of Sam Diego CA, reigning Boston Marathon champion Wesley Korir, 32, of Kenya, 2012 Boston Marathon champion Dathan Ritzenhein, 31, of Belmond, MI, three-time Olympian Josh George, 30, of Champaign, IL, defending men’s wheelchair champion |
| PRESS INFO: |
Please contact Rob Molke (rmolke@nyrr.org, 646.758.9711) for more information and to confirm your attendance. Note: Please RSVP to receive clearance with school security, and please bring a photo ID. Additional information on the United Airlines NYC Half and the Times Square Kids’ Run, including press releases, media advisories, the Race-week media events schedule, and downloadable photos from the 2014 NYC Half and NYRR’s youth running programs can be found in our online media center here. You will need to create an account for access. |
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. The United Airlines NYC Half is NYRR’s signature half-marathon, and the opening event of the NYRR Five-Borough Series. The race features a talented American and international professional athlete field, competitive, recreational, and charity runners, some 2,200 volunteers and thousands of spectators. The event offers the quintessential New York experience—a 13.1-mile tour of the Big Apple like no other—from the rolling hills of Central Park, up to Harlem, down through Times Square, along the Hudson River waterfront, to a finish in lower Manhattan. United Airlines, New York area's largest airline, is the title sponsor of the United Airlines NYC Half and an NYRR foundation partner. To learn more, visit unitedairlinesnychalf.nyrr.org.