2016 U.S. Olympian Jared Ward and 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Qualifier Jake Riley to face-off in Virtual 5k Challenge presented by KT Tape

July 1, 2020

KT Tape will sponsor the prize purse with Ward and Riley donating their race prize money to local charities supporting CV19 caregivers.

American Fork, Utah. – KT Tape, the leader in drug-free pain relief products, in conjunction with T.E.A.M Boulder, announced today that they will be sponsoring a virtual 5k challenge between 2016 Olympian Jared Ward (Saucony/Provo, Utah) and 2020 Olympic Marathon Qualifier Jake Riley (On/Boulder, Colo.).

Ward and Riley will square off on Instagram LIVE @TeamBoulder on Saturday, July 4^th at 8:00am MDT. They will be competing individually on two 5k courses in Provo, Utah and Boulder, Colorado. Two-time U.S. Marathon Olympian Ed Eyestone, who coaches Jared, will provide the play by play from Utah and three-time Australian Marathon Olympian Lee Troop, who coaches Jake will commentate from Colorado. The Virtual 5k Challenge presented by KT Tape will be the first running virtual race to award a cash prize purse. Each runner will be racing for a local charity supporting CV19 caregivers and will announce them on Friday via their social media channels.

“I’ve had respect for Jake since high school, we have raced against each other for over 14 years,” said Jared Ward. “This race will be different, but we hope to put on a good show for our social media fans and provide support to the CV19 caregivers.”

While the 5k Challenge will be a friendly competition, Ward and Riley have competed against each other throughout their running careers. Starting out at the 2006 Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships, where Jake finished 17 seconds ahead of Jared, through college, post college and most recently at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta, GA. At the Marathon Trials, Jake finished second to qualify for his first Olympic team, while Jared finished 27^th.

“I’m excited to race again. Jared and I always bring out the best in each other and now we can push each other while helping our local communities. The CV19 epidemic has been tough on all of us, we need to make sure we bring awareness to the heroes who have been taking care of the sick and helping them recover from the illness,” said Jake Riley.

“KT Tape supports athletes, from Team USA members to your local running partners,” said Greg Venner, CEO of KT Tape. “We are happy to support Jared and Jake in this Virtual 5k Challenge and bring awareness to our caregivers.”

KT Tape will award a prize to the first individual to predict the race winner and their time. Prediction must be placed as a comment on one of KT Tape’s Instagram posts promoting the Virtual 5k Competition.

About KT Tape:
Based in American Fork, Utah and founded in 2008, KT Tape® has revolutionized the sports medicine industry with the introduction of the most advanced and recognized kinesiology tape and recovery products.

KT Tape® is recognized as a leader in sports related pain and injury treatment. The mission of the company is to develop breakthrough solutions to help enable athletes to compete at their best. KT Tape has become the athlete’s choice for drug free pain relief and injury management.

The Company currently designs, develops, and distributes a variety of kinesiology tape lines, including KT Tape® Original (cotton) and KT Tape® Pro™ (synthetic), engineered for targeted pain relief* and enhanced functionality, as well as a line of performance and recovery products.

KT Tape is the largest kinesiology tape manufacturer in stores, available in 42,000+ domestic retail locations and 40 countries.

For more information, visit www.kttape.com.

For more information, please contact Guillermo Rojas at guillermo.rojas@torrecs.com