FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Koch
HighlandPR
(330) 996-4140
Rob Emrich
Road of Life
(614) 221-1235
Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon and Road of Life
Team Up to Recruit Walkers and Aid Cancer Prevention for Kids
CLEVELAND - (March 8, 2005) - Athletes signing up to walk in the inaugural
marathon and half-marathon walking divisions of the Rite Aid Cleveland
Marathon & 10K will be supporting a charitable organization focused on
cancer prevention for kids. Road of Life will be the official charity for
the new walking divisions and a portion of the registration fees for all
walkers will go to benefit the organization's cancer prevention programs.
Road of Life believes that the most effective and efficient way to prevent
cancer is educating children about healthy lifestyle choices, and
developing new habits in the ways young people eat and exercise. According
to the American Cancer Society, evidence suggests that a third of the more
than half million cancer deaths that occur in the United States each year
are due to unhealthy diet and insufficient physical activity and another
third are due to tobacco use.
"Partnering with the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K provides us with a
wonderful opportunity to promote our message and programming," said founder
Rob Emrich.
"We're delighted to have Road of Life as one of our partners and we look
forward to a long relationship with them," said Ralph Staph, race director
of the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K.
Emrich founded Road of Life, based in Columbus, Ohio, as the programming
arm of The Keren Emrich Foundation. The foundation is named in memory of
Emrich's younger sister who died of cancer.
To help aid Road of Life and its mission, everyone entering the Rite Aid
Cleveland Marathon & 10K, can create their own personal fundraising web
page. The website, located at www.active.com/donate/roadoflife2005 is easy
to use and allows both runners and walkers to generate personalized letters
and donor email lists, set fundraising goals, and track donations.
"One of the main themes of Road of Life's programming is getting people
active, no matter what their circumstances," said Emrich. "Most people are
intimidated by the idea of running a marathon, but working towards walking
one, or even walking a half-marathon is something that almost anyone can
accomplish with the proper preparation."
The marathon course for the 28th Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K will be
open a full eight hours. The race, for both walkers and runners, begins at
7:00am on Sunday, May 22.
To register for the race and raise money for Road of Life, visit the Rite
Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K website at www.ClevelandMarathon.com or
call (800) 467-3826.
To learn more about Road of Life and its cancer prevention programming,
visit www.RoadofLife.org or call (800) 850-9082.
About the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K
The Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K is now in its 28th year of providing
a running experience for all individuals who want to participate regardless
of their abilities. More than 250,000 runners have participated, generating
more than $6.8 million annually to benefit the Cleveland community and
raising more than $1 million for various charities.
Sponsors of the 28th Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K include:
Rite Aid, Alpine Springs Natural Spring Water, American Greetings, Miller
Brewing, Lamisil Tablets, Carb Boom Energy Gel, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue
Shield, Hershey's Payday Pro, Coca-Cola, Sports Health/Cleveland Clinic,
ASICS, Galleria at Erieview, Powerade, Panera Bread, WKYC-TV3, WAKS Kiss
96.5 FM, WGAR 99.5 FM, WMJI Magic 105.7 FM, WMMS 100.7 FM, WMVX Mix 106.5
FM and WTAM 1100 AM
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