FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2020 TCS New York City Marathon Official Charity Running Program
Launches with Goal of Raising $50 Million for Charity
to Celebrate 50th Anniversary
Charity entries are now available through the more than 450 official
charity partners, and all participants are encouraged to run for a cause
New York, February 26, 2020-New York Road Runners (NYRR), the world's
premier community running organization, today launched the 2020 TCS New
York City Marathon Official Charity Partner Program with a goal of
exceeding $50 million raised by runners for charity. The goal of $50
million celebrates the marathon's 50th anniversary and its history of
participants giving back. More than 11,000 official charity runners
representing more than 450 causes are expected to participate on Sunday,
November 1.
Since its inception in 2006, the TCS New York City Marathon Official
Charity Partner Program has raised more than $350 million for more than
1,000 worthy nonprofit organizations across the globe. Prior to the start
of the official program, the New York City Marathon had served as an outlet
for individual philanthropic runners since the 1980s.
"Looking back on how the New York City Marathon has grown since those first
55 finishers circled Central Park in 1970, there is a lot to be proud of,
but most notably is its philanthropic impact," said Michael Capiraso,
president and CEO of NYRR, and NYRR Team for Kids charity runner. "Each
year we see a growing number of runners looking to add meaning to their
miles and run for a cause, including those not affiliated with an official
partner who choose to raise funds on their own, turning the world's largest
marathon into one of the world's largest fundraising platforms."
Thousands of runners will find out today if they received an entry to the
2020 TCS New York City Marathon through the non-guaranteed entry drawing.
Runners who do not receive entry through the drawing can still participate
in the event's golden anniversary by running in support of one of the 450+
Official Charity Partners, including NYRR Team for Kids.
New York City Marathon co-founder and former NYRR president Fred Lebow was
an early believer in the marathon's fundraising potential. In 1991, while
being treated for brain cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering, Fred spent his
time in the hospital contemplating ways to use running to raise money for a
cure. That year, Fred designated Memorial Sloan Kettering as the marathon's
first charity partner. One year after Fred's death in 1994, the team
representing Memorial Sloan Kettering created Fred's Team, a Gold Level
Charity Partner since 2006.
In 2002 NYRR introduced Team for Kids, a committed group of adult runners
from around the world who raise funds for NYRR's free youth fitness
programs while training for major endurance events, including all six of
the Abbott World Marathon Majors. Since Team for Kids' launch, the team has
raised more than $74 million, supporting the 250,000 children who
participate in Rising New York Road Runners nationwide.
In honor of the marathon's 50th anniversary, race organizers are
encouraging runners who received entries through other means to consider
raising funds for an organization of their choosing. Those not affiliated
with a specific nonprofit can utilize GoFundMe Charity, the TCS New York
City Marathon's official fundraising partner platform, to run in support of
a cause that's meaningful to them.
For more information on the Official Charity Partner Program and its 450+
nonprofit participants, please visit
https://www.nyrr.org/tcsnycmarathon/runners/charities
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 that annually serves over 670,000 people of
all ages and abilities through events and free youth and community
programming. The race is held annually on the first Sunday of November and
includes over 53,000 runners, from the world's top professional athletes to
runners of all ages and abilities, including over 11,000 charity runners.
Participants from over 125 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 ends at the marathon finish line. 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. 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 50th running of the
TCS New York City Marathon is set for November 1, 2020. To learn more,
visit www.tcsnycmarathon.org.
About Abbott World Marathon Majors
The TCS New York City Marathon 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. The AbbottWMM professional athlete
series has crowned the sport's top open field and wheelchair athletes since
2006. Today, over 6,000 runners have earned the coveted AbbottWMM Six-Star
Medal for competing all six races.
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