Run To Remember Boston THIS SUNDAY Features 10,000+ Runners Passing Thru Historic Downtown Boston to Honor Fallen Heroes
21 teams from first responder departments in N.E. and across the country also competing in half marathon for charity prize and bragging rights
WHAT: Run To Remember Boston, a charity road race honoring all 1st Responders killed in the line of duty.
WHEN: This Sunday, May 28 – both the Half Marathon and 5-Mile events will have a “wave” start at 7 a.m. Media should arrive before 6:30 a.m. for pre-race activities. (No separate media pass will be issued or required, but all media should have their press badge visible.)
WHERE: Best place to capture the Start is from the service bridge at the Seaport World Trade Center, Boston – between the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center, accessed from Summer Street. Media may also go along parts of the course.
WHO: Sponsored by the Boston PD & the Boston Police Runner’s Club to benefit children’s charities, the 13th annual Run To Remember Boston honors those who lost their lives protecting and serving others. Major sponsors are New Balance, City of Boston Credit Union and new this year, Geico.
WHY
COVER: Holiday weekend PHOTO OP. Run To Remember Boston is viewed as the city’s second best road race (behind that Boston Marathon). At the start, mass of runners heading onto course framed by Boston skyline, and both races feature scenic loop courses that wind through the city’s historic downtown. The half marathon crosses over the Charles River along Memorial Drive in Cambridge before looping back.
ADVANCE or RACE DAY Story Ideas:
The pre-race activities on Sunday morning will include a special tribute to honor Watertown firefighter Joseph Toscano who in March became the first firefighter in Massachusetts to die in the line of duty since 2014. Joe, who was stricken while battling a two-alarm fire inside a home in Watertown, is survived by his wife of 25 years and five children. Many runners on Sunday will wear a special tribute bib with Firefighter Toscano’s name on the back of their shirt.
The race’s First Responder Challenge will pit teams with a minimum of five runners from any first responder department – including fire and EMTs – in the half marathon for a chance to win bragging rights and split a cash prize of $10,000 among the top three teams for the charity of their choice. New this year, an additional prize of $1,000 for the top department with 250 or fewer active members. Most of the teams this year are from departments in the Boston area, but others are coming from across New England and New York, even from Los Angeles. See the list below to find a team in your coverage area. The Boston PD finished second (Massachusetts State Police third) to the New York PD in 2016 and will be looking to unseat the defending champs this year.
The free Kids Fun Run on top of the Seaport World Trade Center will be Saturday at 10 a.m. More info at http://www.bostonsruntoremember.com/boston/kids-fun-run.html
Two-day Sports and Fitness Expo (and bib pickup) – Friday, from 3-7 p.m. and Saturday from 9-5 p.m., featuring more than 30 exhibitors and a post-race celebration. Also, runners still interested in participating can register at the Expo. More info at http://www.bostonsruntoremember.com/boston/race-day-info.html
PARKING: Info on parking, directions, schedules, etc. can be found on the race website at http://www.bostonsruntoremember.com/boston/directions–transportation.html
MEDIA
CONTACT: Race Director Steve Balfour (617) 543-5648 sbalfour@me.com before 6 a.m. Sunday and after 7:30 a.m.; Beryl Wolfe, Wolfe PR, beryl@wolfenews.com (520) 399-5770.
2017 First Responder Challenge teams – Run To Remember Boston
Boston PD (28 competitors)
New York PD (24)
Massachusetts State Police (17)
Transit Police Department (14)
Nashua (NH) PD (10)
Lowell PD (9)
Los Angeles Police Department (8)
MA Department of Corrections (7)
La Meute Greenville (7)
Lynn PD (7)
Morris Township PD (7)
Boston Fire Department (6)
Boston Police Academy Recruit Class 56-16 (6)
Chelmsford PD (6)
Portland (ME) Police Department (6)
United States Army (6)
Beth Israel Hospital (5)
Brookline PD (5)
Essex County Sheriff’s Department (5)
Department of Homeland Security Investigations (5)
Woburn PD (5)
Every finisher in the two races Sunday will receive a commemorative medal with a special inner Challenge Coin of their choice, honoring either police, fire or all first responders….
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