The New York Road Runners (NYRR), joined by special guests Mr. and Mrs. Met, distributed free New Balance shoes to more than 400 elementary and middle school students from 12 schools across New York City’s five boroughs at the TCS New York City Marathon Pavilion near Central Park on Monday, Oct. 28.
Each of the schools whose students received the shoes are part of the Rising New York Road Runners, NYRR’s free flagship running-based youth program that serves more than 195,000 students across the United States, including nearly 100,000 in New York City. Among the 400 kids to receive these shoes were nearly 70 students from P.S. 211 – Elm Tree Elementary School in Corona and P.S. 329Q – East Elmhurst Community School.
This event kicked off the week leading up to the TCS New York City Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 2. This marathon, the largest in the world, is one approximately 60 adult and youth races that New York Road Runners produces in New York City each year.
“[This giveaway] is a huge part of what we as a part of New York Road Runners do to help accomplish our mission of creating healthier lives and stronger communities through the transformative power of running,” NYRR CEO Rob Simmelkjaer said. “Our partners at New Balance have donated over 40,000 shows that we’ve been able to give away to kids from more than 1,000 schools around the United States. This is part of how we get kids active and moving at an early age. When a kid gets a brand new pair of running shoes, it makes them not only happy, but more excited about running and moving. We’re so happy to be able to do this today with our friends from New Balance.”
“What I like most about [running] is that you get a chance to just have fun, said Aniyah, a Rising New York Road Runners participant. “It just takes away all the things that are going on around you. It’s good to run because you get things off your chest. And you also do it with your friends, so it’s good to communicate and just bond with your friends while running.
