FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NBC Sports and Universal Sports Present Broadcast,
Online Coverage of the ING New York City Marathon
Universal Sports, UniversalSports.com LIVE Coverage Begins at 9am ET;
NBC Sports to Present a Two-Hour Special Beginning at 2pm ET
Chilean Miner Edison "The Runner" Peña to Compete
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, and NEW YORK – November 2, 2010 – NBC Sports and
Universal Sports will provide more than seven hours of LIVE broadcast and
online coverage of the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 7.
Universal Sports and UniversalSports.com will begin their coverage at 9am
ET. NBC Sports will air a two-hour special presentation from 2 – 4pm ET.
The online and broadcast coverage will showcase the 26.2-mile race seen by
two million spectators as runners pace through New York City's five
boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan, and
finish at Tavern on the Green in world-famous Central Park.
COVERAGE ON NBC SPORTS: NBC Sports will once again air same-day taped
coverage of the Marathon from 2-4pm ET. The two hours of same-day coverage
is the only national over-the-air television coverage of any major marathon
outside of the Olympics. Coverage is hosted by NBC Sports' Jimmy Roberts.
COVERAGE ON UNIVERSAL SPORTS: Universal Sports, available in 63 million
homes, will present LIVE coverage on its 24-hour television network from
9am - 2pm ET, as well as live simultaneous coverage on Universalsports.com,
live streaming via iPhone app (App Store: ING New York City Marathon) and
post race highlights via iPhone (App Store: Universal Sports). Universal
Sports this year has provided complete, in-depth television and online
coverage of three marathon majors: the Boston Marathon, the London Marathon
and the New York City Marathon.
Headlining the men's field this year is 2009 Men's New York City Marathon
winner Meb Keflezighi, who was the first American to win this race since
1982. He will be looking to repeat this year, but will face very tough
competition from world record-holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia.
On the women's side, all eyes will be on 2009 Women's New York City
Marathon winner, Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia, and New York City Half-Marathon
champion and 2009 London Marathon runner-up Mara Yamauchi of England. Also,
Olympic 10,000m bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan of the United States will
make her marathon debut.
Chilean miner Edison Peña, known as "The Runner", will be among those
racing on Sunday. Peña is one of the 33 miners that were recently rescued
after 69 days underground in Chile. He passed the time by running three to
six miles a day in complete darkness. The New York Road Runners, organizers
of the ING New York City Marathon, extended an invitation to Peña after
they heard about his passion for the sport.
This year's celebrity roster features more than 20 names that cover a wide
range of disciplines, from television to sports to culinary. Most of them
will race for one of the 190 charities involved in this year's ING New York
City Marathon's charity program. Among those racing are Today Show
television personality Al Roker, Andy Baldwin from The Bachelor (ING Run
for Something Better), Chef/TV personality Bobby Flay, former New York
Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer (Team for Kids), Survivor: Africa
champion Ethan Zohn (Grassroots Soccer) and Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle
(Jared Foundation).
ABOUT UNIVERSAL SPORTS: Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports
and InterMedia Partners, LP, serves as the preeminent multiplatform
destination for Olympic-related sports programming on television and
online. Universal Sports is available in more than 63 million homes,
including all of the nation's top 10 DMAs: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago,
Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth and Washington, D.C. Recent
expansion includes launches in Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Denver,
Portland, and Jacksonville. Go to UniversalSports.com for a complete list
of TV markets. Major world championship and Olympic qualifying events found
on Universal Sports range from track and field, skiing, swimming, rugby,
gymnastics, marathons and cycling, to volleyball, rowing, triathlon and
speed skating. UniversalSports.com delivers an immersive experience via
live and on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes
through blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information
year round. For more information on the availability of the Universal
Sports 24-hour television channel, please visit UniversalSports.com.
New York Road Runners: Headquartered in New York City, New York Road
Runners is dedicated to advancing the sport of running, enhancing health
and fitness for all, and meeting our community's needs. Our goal is to use
the expertise acquired in our 52-year history to empower all people to live
fitter, healthier lives through participation in our races, community
events, instruction and training resources, and youth programs. Our races
and other events draw more than 300,000 people each year. The ING New York
City Marathon, NYRR's premier event, is the largest and most inclusive
marathon in the world, attracting the world's top professional runners
every year and raising nearly $25 million for charity in 2009. NYRR's
running-based youth programs, which currently serve more than 100,000
children in hundreds of schools and community centers, promote children's
health and fitness, character development, and personal achievement in
underserved communities. For more information, visit www.nyrr.org.
The ING New York City Marathon: The premier event of New York Road Runners,
the ING New York City Marathon is one of the world's great road races,
drawing nearly 105,000 applicants. The race attracts many world-class
professional athletes, not only for the more than $600,000 in prize money,
but also for the chance to excel in the media capital of the world before
two million cheering spectators and a worldwide broadcast reach of 330
million. As any one of the more than 830,000 past participants will attest,
crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the great thrills of a
lifetime. For more information, visit www.ingnycmarathon.org.
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