Press Release - Thailand Temple Run - 1/26/05

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                         Contact: Roman Floesser
                                                  Event Manager
                                                  02 2376910 - 4
                                                  

               GROUP OF 25 AMERICAN STUDENTS TO RUN THE 
                  ING THAILAND TEMPLE RUN FOR CHARITY
              Funds will go towards Tsunami Relief Effort

Most people associate the college spring break in the U.S with binge 
drinking and wild partying. A group of students from the University of 
North Carolina are evidence that not all students spend their well deserved 
break from studying that way.

The group of twenty-five students will run the ING Thailand Temple Run on 
19 March to raise money for the International Red Cross Fund. The runners 
will try to convince their friends and family to sponsor them with a 
certain amount of money for their efforts.  

According to Courtney Garcia, the organizer of the fund-raiser, every 
student hopes to raise at least US$ 1,000 per runner and more than US$ 
20,000 in total.

Before participating in the marathon, the U.S students will help in the 
humanitarian relief effort. 

The organizers of the ING Thailand Temple Run welcome the student's 
initiative and have been supporting the group in planning the trip, making 
travel arrangements and booking accommodation.

The ING Thailand Temple Run is a running event that offers participants a 
running as well as a cultural experience. The picturesque setting of the 
racecourse through fruit orchards, coconut plantations, small villages and 
past stunning Buddhist temples in Samut Songkram province makes the 
marathon a truly unique experience.

The event features a Marathon (42.2k), a Half Marathon (21.1k), a Fun Run 
(10.5k) and a Kids Run (1k) and is supported by the Tourism Authority of 
Thailand.

The ING Thailand Temple Run is one of seven races of ING's Globerunners 
Program which also includes the ING New York Marathon, ING Amsterdam 
Marathon, ING Brussels Marathon, ING Edmonton Marathon, ING Ottawa Marathon 
and ING Taipei Marathon. ING is one of the world's largest financial 
services companies, offering banking, insurance and asset management in 
over 50 countries.

Highlights of the ING Thailand Temple Run will be broadcast all over Asia 
through Star World and UBC. 

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