Team Meb to Participate with Conviction in Nike+ Human Race, Support NineMillion.org
Posted August 28th, 2008 at 7:25 PM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Columns, SPOTLIGHT, Road Racing
Press Release: This month the world watched as athletes from nations around the globe united in competitive spirit in one amazing city: Beijing. On August 31, that spirit continues with the Nike+ Human Race, the world’s largest sporting event, which will feature 10K races in 25 cities around the globe.
In Los Angeles, one group of family members, friends and fans of U.S. Olympic Silver Medalist Meb Keflezighi, will unite with professional runners, including Nike athletes Khadevis Robinson and Jon Rankin, and Team Running USA member Jacques Sallberg, to run the race and raise money and awareness for NineMillion.org, the United Nation’s program that supports refugee children around the world with access to education and sports.
Team Meb has a unique tie to the noble causes of NineMillion.org. Their team name sake and running inspiration, Meb Keflezighi, who also remains the reigning U.S. record holder in the 10k with an astonishing 27:13:98, not only supports the cause vigorously, but he lived it, as did his brother, Hawi Keflezighi, owner of HAWI Management, which manages both Rankin and Sallberg.
Meb, Hawi, and four other siblings began their lives caught in the midst of a brutal 30-year war between their homeland of Eritrea and Ethiopia. Fearing for their lives, the family fled Eritrea as refugees, spending time in Italy before arriving in the United States.
It was in San Diego where Meb began his meteoric rise to running fame. While overcoming language barriers to achieve superior status as a student, he also astounded his coaches with his speed and endurance. Meb went on to earn a rare full-ride scholarship to UCLA in track, where he was a four time NCAA champion. In 2004, he won the Silver Medal at the Olympics Marathon in Athens, despite being ranked only 39th in the field.
From Belgium, where he is preparing to run the 5k at the Flanders Cup on August 30, and the 10k in the Golden League Memorial Van Damme on September 5, Meb said, “The efforts of Team Meb have exposed thousands of people to the work of NineMillion.org, and already more than 125 people have joined the team to raise money for a cause that is so important to nine million refugee children around the world. I am with them in spirit and so happy for their commitment to this cause.”
Donations can be made to NineMillion.org in support of Team Meb online by visiting www.ninemillionspacesdonations.org. Visit www.ninemillion.org for a first hand look at the work being done by the program by watching the video on the home page. The video features Meb Keflezighi as spokesperson, part of his role as an active supporter of the program.
For more information, visit www.hawisports.com and click on the Events section of the website to learn more about Team Meb.
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Tags: charity, hawi keflezighi, hawi sports, jaques sallberg, jon rankin, Khadevis Robinson, Meb Keflezighi, merhawi keflezighi, nike, nike+ human race, nike plus human race, ninemillion.org, team meb
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