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Lead Stories: Saturday, September 6, 2008

97th ING Bay to Breakers Returns on Sunday in San Francisco

Posted May 14th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

Part parade, part fashion show, and part road race, the 97th ING Bay to Breakers returns to the streets of San Francisco on Sunday, and organizers expect some 70,000 runners and walkers (about half of them unregistered) to take part.

Up front, the race is serious business. Elite athlete coordinator Josh Muxen has assembled a strong field to chase a $74,000 prize money purse, including a special $25,000 ING Battle to the Breakers bonus which will be awarded to the first athlete to cross the finish line. That could be a man or it could be a woman; women are given a four minute and 40 second headstart based on the difference between the male (33:42) and female (38:22) course records.

In addition, there is a $5000 bonus for the first man and first woman to reach the top of Hayes Street Hill, a beast of a climb which begins at the two mile mark on Franklin Street, rises 201 feet, and covers a distance of 0.69 miles. Athletes can pocket the bonus as long as they also finish in the top-20.
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Philly Distance Run Joins
ING Family of Races

Posted February 7th, 2008 at 11:10 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

The Philadelphia Distance Run has become the latest event to join the ING family of road races, organizers announced today. This classic September half-marathon, which goes up and down the Schuylkill River, will now be known as the ING Philadelphia Distance Run.

“Elite Racing assumed management of the Philadelphia Distance Run in 2005 and has since worked hard to uphold its high standards and increase its visibility on the world’s stage, said Adam Zocks who manages the race for San Diego-based Elite Racing, Inc., a division of Competitor Group, Inc. “Our partnership with ING only adds to the prestige of the event.”

The race is consistently one of the fastest half-marathons in the United States. According to the independent Association of Road Racing Statisticians, the ING Philadelphia Distance Run has played host to three men’s world records (1982, 1985 and 1990) and two women’s world records (1983 and 1984).
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Hartford to Join ING Sponsored Family of Marathons

Posted November 20th, 2007 at 5:44 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

ING, the Dutch financial giant which already sponsors marathons from Amsterdam to Taipei, has added Hartford, Conn., to its stable of races, organizers announced today. The event, held every October, will now be known as the ING Hartford Marathon and Half-Marathon.

“When ING gets behind a race, we know they’re serious about creating an exceptional experience for runners, spectators and everyone involved,” said Beth Shluger, race director and marathon founder through a media release. “We’re thrilled to have ING as our new title sponsor, helping to make this event even better by drawing elite runners from around the world and offering tremendous value to the region.”
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ING Uses Marathons to
Build U.S. Identity

Posted November 1st, 2007 at 7:30 AM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Marathons

When ING, the Dutch-based financial services company, began to establish its operations in the United States in 2001, it needed a way to establish an identity in a cluttered market with established names. Instead of attaching itself to golf and tennis, more traditional branding routes, ING in 2003 jumped into the New York City Marathon.

Marathoners tend to be affluent. The average household income for participants in the New York City Marathon is $130,000. Two-thirds of the 37,000 runners this year are between 30 and 50, an age when people are becoming aware of and receptive to the need for financial planning.

For more information, please visit: nytimes.com

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Hockey legend Mike Richter sets goal to complete the ING New York City Marathon and ‘Run for Something Better’

Posted August 17th, 2007 at 9:15 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Instead of preventing goals, hockey legend Mike Richter has teamed up with global financial services leader ING and set a goal to complete the 2007 ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 4.

Richter, who led the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup in 1994 and the United States to a gold medal in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, has joined forces with ING to encourage more New York City boys and girls to fight childhood obesity and get active as part of the national ING Run for Something Better program.

“Since retiring from hockey, I have become an avid endurance athlete who recognizes the long-term fitness benefits of running, cycling and swimming,” said Richter. “By setting a goal to complete the ING New York City Marathon, I hope to inspire thousands of children in the city to set their own personal fitness goals and work toward them properly through the ING Run for Something Better program.”
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Gelana and Burangulova victorious at the ING Miami Marathon

Posted January 29th, 2007 at 5:25 PM by Lisa Cieplechowicz

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Ethiopia’s Teshome Ethanat Gelana secured a victory (2:17:54) yesterday in his U.S. marathon debut at the fifth annual ING Miami Marathon. Gelana, who earned $5,000 in prize money, finished 35 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Columbia’s Juan Carlos Cardona (2:18:29).

Russia’s Ramila Burangulova won the women’s marathon in 2:40:25. Burangulova, who also won the Marathon of the Palm Beaches, received an extra $2,500 in prize money for finishing in less than two hours and forty two seconds. Rima Dubovik, of the Ukraine, came in second (2:43).
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ING Boosts Race Prize Purse to Over $700,000, Largest in Marathon History; Extends Title Sponsorship Through 2010

Posted October 25th, 2006 at 10:15 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons

PRESS RELEASE: A special prize bonus funded by ING has helped create the largest guaranteed prize purse in marathon history.

Totaling more than $700,000, the purse includes a $130,000 first-place payout for both the men’s and women’s champions at this year’s ING New York City Marathon. ING will provide an additional special bonus of $65,000 to the 2006 men’s professional prize purse, bringing the men’s purse to the same level as the women’s.

In 2005, ING added a $65,000 bonus to the women’s purse pushing the women’s prize purse higher than the men’s. [Prize purse breakdown]

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Tergat, Prokopcuka Set To Defend NYC Marathon Titles

Posted July 22nd, 2006 at 12:04 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Could this year’s ING New York City Marathon possibly be better than last year’s drama-filled race? Well, now that last year’s winners, Paul Tergat and Jelena Prokopcuka, have officially announced their return - anything is possible.

The New York Road Runners press conference regarding their return has sent a buzz throughout the running community. However, Tergat and Prokopcuka will have a lot to live up to in their attempts to defend their titles.

Tergat, the world record holder for marathons (2:04:55 in Berlin in 2003), won the 2005 NYC Marathon by the closest margin of victory ever - a mere 1 second. His incredibly close win, accomplished in only 2:09:30, was more than just exciting. It also succeeded in giving distance running a much needed shot in the arm in terms of fan attention and general coverage among the media.

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