2020 TCS New York City Marathon Official Charity Running Program Launches with Goal of Raising $50 Million for Charity to Celebrate 50th Anniversary

February 26, 2020

Charity entries are now available through the more than 450 official charity partners, and all participants are encouraged to run for a cause

New York, February 26, 2020—New York Road Runners (NYRR), the world’s premier community running organization, today launched the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon Official Charity Partner Program with a goal of exceeding $50 million raised by runners for charity. The goal of $50 million celebrates the marathon’s 50th anniversary and its history of participants giving back. More than 11,000 official charity runners representing more than 450 causes are expected to participate on Sunday, November 1.

Since its inception in 2006, the TCS New York City Marathon Official Charity Partner Program has raised more than $350 million for more than 1,000 worthy nonprofit organizations across the globe. Prior to the start of the official program, the New York City Marathon had served as an outlet for individual philanthropic runners since the 1980s.

“Looking back on how the New York City Marathon has grown since those first 55 finishers circled Central Park in 1970, there is a lot to be proud of, but most notably is its philanthropic impact,” said Michael Capiraso, president and CEO of NYRR, and NYRR Team for Kids charity runner. “Each year we see a growing number of runners looking to add meaning to their miles and run for a cause, including those not affiliated with an official partner who choose to raise funds on their own, turning the world’s largest marathon into one of the world’s largest fundraising platforms.”

Thousands of runners will find out today if they received an entry to the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon through the non-guaranteed entry drawing. Runners who do not receive entry through the drawing can still participate in the event’s golden anniversary by running in support of one of the 450+ Official Charity Partners, including NYRR Team for Kids.

New York City Marathon co-founder and former NYRR president Fred Lebow was an early believer in the marathon’s fundraising potential. In 1991, while being treated for brain cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering, Fred spent his time in the hospital contemplating ways to use running to raise money for a cure. That year, Fred designated Memorial Sloan Kettering as the marathon’s first charity partner. One year after Fred’s death in 1994, the team representing Memorial Sloan Kettering created Fred’s Team, a Gold Level Charity Partner since 2006.

In 2002 NYRR introduced Team for Kids, a committed group of adult runners from around the world who raise funds for NYRR’s free youth fitness programs while training for major endurance events, including all six of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. Since Team for Kids’ launch, the team has raised more than $74 million, supporting the 250,000 children who participate in Rising New York Road Runners nationwide.

In honor of the marathon’s 50th anniversary, race organizers are encouraging runners who received entries through other means to consider raising funds for an organization of their choosing. Those not affiliated with a specific nonprofit can utilize GoFundMe Charity, the TCS New York City Marathon’s official fundraising partner platform, to run in support of a cause that’s meaningful to them.

For more information on the Official Charity Partner Program and its 450+ nonprofit participants, please visit https://www.nyrr.org/tcsnycmarathon/runners/charities

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About the TCS New York City Marathon

The TCS New York City Marathon is the largest marathon in the world and the signature event of New York Road Runners (NYRR), the world’s premier community running organization that annually serves over 670,000 people of all ages and abilities through events and free youth and community programming. The race is held annually on the first Sunday of November and includes over 53,000 runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to runners of all ages and abilities, including over 11,000 charity runners. Participants from over 125 countries tour the diverse neighborhoods of New York City’s five boroughs—Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Race morning also features the Rising New York Road Runners Youth Invitational at the TCS New York City Marathon, a race within Central Park that ends at the marathon finish line. More than one million spectators and 10,000 volunteers line the city’s streets in support of the runners, while millions more watch the globally televised broadcast. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, is the premier partner of NYRR and the title sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon. The 50th running of the TCS New York City Marathon is set for November 1, 2020. To learn more, visit www.tcsnycmarathon.org.

About Abbott World Marathon Majors

The TCS New York City Marathon is a founding member of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, which features the world’s top marathons—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York. The AbbottWMM professional athlete series has crowned the sport’s top open field and wheelchair athletes since 2006.  Today, over 6,000 runners have earned the coveted AbbottWMM Six-Star Medal for competing all six races.

Contact: Matt Singer: (o) 212.901.3539 (c) 646.951.3339 (e) msinger@nyrr.org