Six 'Featured Runners' in the ING New York City Marathon 2011 Bring Diverse Perspective to Training, Race Experience

NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Coming from locations as diverse as St. Louis, Miami, Cleveland and West Virginia, six "Featured Runners" selected by ING, title sponsor of the ING New York City Marathon and creator of Facebook fan site ING Runner's Nation, will start their first ING New York City Marathon Sunday, Nov. 6.  As Featured Runners, the three men and three women were each given a video camera, which they are using to upload videos and photos to accompany their personal blog posts about training leading up to the world's largest marathon.  

The six Featured Runners are Rebecca Babb of Lake Mary, Fla.; Jerome Beavers of Huntington, W.Va.; Marie Daniels of New York City; Heather Mursch of Lakewood, Ohio; Brad Kinnear of Eureka, Mo.; and Simran Singh of New York City.  ING Runner's Nation is a Facebook-based interactive forum for running enthusiasts across the U.S. and the world.

According to ING Runner's Nation, one of the six runners will be chosen during the week leading up to the race event for a VIP race-day experience, including luxury transportation and VIP pavilion access at the marathon starting line village.  Friends and fans of any of the six runners can support their efforts by going to the Facebook site and clicking the "thumbs up" symbol near the favorite runner's name and profile.  Featured Runner videos, photos and blog posts can be seen at www.facebook.com/INGRunnersNation.

Some of the Featured Runners are experienced marathoners, while others will be tackling their first 26.2-mile event for the first time.  The annual ING New York City Marathon attracts nearly 50,000 runners from around the world.

Dr. Andy Baldwin returns to support ING's youth running efforts

U.S. Navy physician, humanitarian, television personality and endurance athlete, Lieutenant Commander Andrew Baldwin, M.D., returns to this year's ING New York City Marathon as national ambassador for the ING Run For Something Better®, a charitable initiative that promotes youth fitness and provides grants and funding for school-based running programs across the country.  These include programs within New York City that have been established through the successful partnership between ING and New York Road Runners.

During the marathon, Dr. Baldwin will wear a pair of ING's signature orange shoelaces.  Orange laces are given to those who make a donation of $10 or more to the ING Run For Something Better cause. The laces serve as a "thank you" and symbol of support for youth fitness and running.  ING's orange laces are available at www.orangelaces.com.   All donations from orange laces that are raised in conjunction with the ING New York City Marathon go to benefit New York Road Runners' Youth and Community Service programs.

For inquiries:
Phil Margolis, ING
Office: 860-580-2676
Cell:  860-805-7642
[email protected]

About ING

ING U.S. is a part of Dutch-based ING Groep N.V.  In the U.S., the ING (NYSE: ING) family of companies offers a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which includes life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits and financial planning. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves approximately 15 million customers across the nation. For more information, visit ing.us.

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 $30.8 million for charity in 2010. 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 some 140,000 applicants. The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the $650,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel in the media capital of the world before 2 million cheering spectators and a worldwide broadcast reach of 330 million. As any one of the more than 875,000 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 ING U.S.