Pick a Charity, Pick a Friend & Join the Honda LA Marathon; 'Charity 2-Person Marathon' Makes its Debut

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time in the race's history, the Honda LA Marathon is giving people a new way to experience 26.2 miles, in the form of a two-person relay. Runners will have the opportunity to join forces with a teammate to complete the full marathon distance, while raising money for one of the Honda LA Marathon's official charities supporting critical environmental, community and health-related causes.

Along with other participants in the 2012 Honda LA Marathon, the first team member will begin at Dodger Stadium and continue through Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Echo Park and Silverlake, passing landmarks including the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Pantages Theatre, and Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The second runner will pass by the Sunset Strip, run down Rodeo Drive, and then finish on Ocean Avenue, just a few steps from the Santa Monica Pier.

There are several hundred entries available for the 2012 Charity 2-Person Marathon, and the only way to participate is through registering with one of the Honda LA Marathon's official charities, found online at www.lamarathon.com/charities/2-person-marathon. The combined entry fee of $250 covers both members of the team, and fundraising minimums will depend on individual charity requirements.

"We are thrilled to launch the Charity 2-Person Marathon for the first time ever, offering a new way for runners to be a part of Marathon weekend," said LA MARATHON LLC Chief Operating Officer Nick Curl. "The Charity 2-Person Marathon will open the Honda LA Marathon to a wider group of people who want to be part of the festivities and raise money for some very important causes."

The inspiration for the Charity 2-Person Marathon came from Ben Fesagaiga, founder of Train 4 Autism, one of the Honda LA Marathon's official charities. Ben wanted to make the race more accessible to the general running community and enable charities to raise more money for important causes. He came to the Honda LA Marathon team with his pitch and it was enthusiastically received. Train 4 Autism brings together athletes committed to raising awareness and funds for autism research.

"My hope is that the creation of the Charity 2-Person Marathon will broaden the appeal of the Honda LA Marathon and show the running community across the country, and the world for that matter, what Los Angeles is all about," Fesagaiga said. "The LA I know and love is passionate about philanthropic causes, supporting charities, and putting others before themselves."

Participants in the Charity 2-Person Marathon benefit from the Honda LA Marathon’s partnership with Crowdrise.  Crowdrise, founded by actor and philanthropist Edward Norton, utilizes cutting-edge ideas about crowd sourcing and combines them with the power of social networking to create a fun and captivating environment for fundraising and volunteerism. Every runner will set up a fundraiser on the 2012 Honda LA Marathon page at www.crowdrise.com/hondaLAMarathon2012 so they can reach out to a network of friends, family members and colleagues in a matter of minutes. Even those who are not running can take part – by supporting a friend who is running, or by setting up a fundraising page of their own. Race officials say the goal is to make it easy for runners, volunteers and other passionate supporters to raise money for their favorite causes.

"For those who always dreamed of running right down the middle of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Sunset Strip and Rodeo Drive, but couldn't commit to training for and running the full 26.2 miles, this is a perfect opportunity to experience our world-class Stadium to the Sea course," Curl said. "We encourage runners to find a great teammate, contact one of our participating charities and make history with us in 2012."

ABOUT LA MARATHON LLC

We inspire athletes and connect communities.  With thousands of volunteers, tens of thousands of participants, and hundreds of thousands of spectators, the Honda LA Marathon is one of the largest organized road races in the country.

ABOUT CROWDRISE

Crowdrise is a website dedicated to online fundraising, event fundraising, volunteering, and having the most fun in the world while doing it. Created by Edward Norton, Shauna Robertson and Robert and Jeff Wolfe, Crowdrise is an innovative web platform where millions of individuals use the best tools and technology to raise money for over a million different charities, while competing in fun and quirky challenges with unique incentives and prizes. Thousands of charitable organizations make Crowdrise their home for starting events, team fundraisers, and turning their base of grassroots supporters into a base of grassroots fundraisers.  Learn more at www.crowdrise.com.

SOURCE LA MARATHON LLC