Plum Voice and New York Road Runners to Provide IVR for the 2010 New York City Marathon

NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Plum Voice (http://www.plumvoice.com/) and New York Road Runners ("NYRR") (http://www.nyrr.org/) proudly announce that they are developing an Interactive Voice Response application ("IVR") that will allow spectators at the 2010 ING New York City Marathon to check a runner's race and medical status over any phone.  Family members and friends can use the application to learn if a runner is receiving medical attention without having to contact race officials or search medical tents.  The service will be offered in English, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, and French.

Spectators can request information about an athlete's status on the course by calling an 800 number and identifying the runner by bib number or by first and last name.  Callers will be apprised of the runner's current status and will receive updates indicating whether the runner has finished the race or is currently getting medical attention. The program will also inform the caller if a runner did not finish the race, received medical attention and was discharged, or was transported to a hospital.  If the runner was transported to a hospital, callers will be transferred to a live help desk for further information.

"Plum Voice's hosted IVR services will support the Marathon's underlying data infrastructure by providing all the IVR technology and telecommunications to support large events like the ING New York City Marathon," said Andrew Kuan, Chief Executive Officer, Plum Voice. "Because cell phones are ubiquitous, a voice application provides the easiest way for Marathon spectators to get information about a runner."

"How best to communicate the status of a runner to their family and friends in a clear and timely manner is a key goal for the medical team this year", says Dr. Stuart Weiss, Medical Director for the ING New York City Marathon and New York Road Runners.  "We feel the IVR solution will contribute positively to those efforts".  

As the leading single-source supplier of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solutions, Plum Voice offers businesses of all sizes the most cost-effective and reliable way to deploy IVR solutions, both locally and internationally.

Plum Voice

With offices in New York, Boston, and Denver, Plum Voice is the leading single-source provider of automated telephony solutions. For businesses of all sizes that demand high-performance, versatile, scalable IVR (Interactive Voice Response) systems, we offer a unique combination of proprietary technology and complete professional services. For more information on pricing and a complete list of product features, please visit www.plumvoice.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.

SOURCE Plum Voice