ASICS Brings A Marathon State Of Mind To New York City

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- An official sponsor of one of New York's most iconic events for over 20 years, ASICS America will bring the city together as one community of marathoners for this year's ING New York City Marathon. With upwards of 43,000 runners and more than 2 million expected spectators, New Yorkers will put the hustle and bustle aside on November 3 to show their commitment and resiliency of a city that hosts the country's largest marathon.  Leading up to race day, ASICS will bring the marathon spirit to every corner of the city with its "We Are Marathoners" campaign which features a traveling treadmill activation set at the pace of one of America's fastest male marathoners, a limited edition ING New York City Marathon commemorative footwear and apparel collection, and the award-winning virtual cheer section, "Support Your Marathoner."

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"The energy that comes to the streets of New York on race day is palpable. This year, perhaps more than ever, the pride and passion of the city and the running community will be felt across the world," said ASICS America CEO Kevin Wulff.  "This same energy is at the core of ASICS pursuit of competition, camaraderie and continuous improvement.  We are honored to have been a sponsor of the ING New York City Marathon for more than 20 years and look forward to bringing the community together again this year for one of New York's finest days." 

Can You Keep Up?
Race fans will get the chance to experience what it feels like to run at the same pace as the fastest American male marathoner through the ASICS' Ryan Hall Treadmill Challenge. ASICS America's custom-built, high performance treadmill is set to replicate Hall's record setting marathon pace. Every New Yorker can get in on the marathon action by hopping on the treadmill and challenging themselves to see how long they can keep Ryan's incredible speed of 4:46 miles. Leading up to race day, the treadmill will tour the city's five boroughs, bringing the marathon experience to life with a real-time leader board and ASICS America prizes for those who can "Run with Ryan." 

As a tribute to each of the 26.2 miles of the marathon, ASICS America will donate $5 for every minute logged on the treadmill at Ryan's pace up to $26,200, to The Mayor's Fund to advance New York City, a not-for-profit organization that facilitates innovative public-private partnerships throughout New York City.  Proceeds will benefit FirstStepNYC, an innovative early childhood education program.

ASICS Brings Back Support Your Marathoner
Back for a fourth year, ASICS will help spread the marathon love over 26.2 miles with its award-winning "Support Your Marathoner" program.  Support Your Marathoner allows friends and family from near and far to be a part of the New York community on race day.  Supporters can virtually motivate runners with personalized video and text messages delivered directly to competitors on screens throughout the course. 

Runners will also be able to keep supporters updated on their victories along the way with pre-written posts sent out in real time from various points on the course.  SupportYourMarathoner.com is now live and available for family and friends to share messages of love and encouragement.

ASICS Celebrates the GEL-Kayano 20^th Anniversary with NYC Marathon Shoe
To give runners an extra spring in their step, ASICS has given its bestselling long distance shoe, the GEL-Kayano® 20, a big city makeover as part of the ASICS NYC Marathon Collection.   Released in limited edition, this 20^th Anniversary GEL-Kayano features a unique vibrant colorway as well as marathon branding throughout the shoe to commemorate the 2013 ING New York City Marathon.  The industry-leading neutral running shoe, GEL-Nimbus®15, is also available with similar custom schemes and marathon markings in celebration of the event.

In addition to the signature shoes, ASICS has developed a head-to-toe limited edition apparel and accessories collection for this year's marathon. The apparel line features a variety of cold weather outerwear along with tech tees and shorts all bearing the ING New York City Marathon logo. The line will also feature a fun collection of graphic tees to help commemorate the city and the race. To complement its marathon apparel, ASICS' accessories line features everything from visors to gloves, performance socks and bags.  

The ASICS Limited Edition NYC Marathon Collection will be available for sale at select retailers in New York City, at the ING New York City Marathon Health and Fitness Expo, and is currently available online at ASICSAmerica.com/nycm.   

ASICS' 2013 ING New York City Marathon activities kicked off this week with the Ryan Hall Treadmill premiere in New York City's Meatpacking District. Additionally, the brand will spread the "We Are Marathoners" message across city buses and at activations at the Time Warner Center. Please visit ASICSAmerica.com or SupportYourMarathoner.com for further information on all the activities surrounding race day.

About ASICS

Anima Sana In Corpore Sano, meaning "A Sound Mind in a Sound Body," is an old Latin phrase from which ASICS is derived and the fundamental platform on which the brand still stands. The company was founded more than 60 years ago by Kihachiro Onitsuka and is now a leading designer and manufacturer of running shoes, as well as, other athletic footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, visit www.asics.com.

SOURCE ASICS America