BMW Dallas Marathon Kicked Off its 51st Anniversary Festival Weekend at Scottish Rite for Children

December 9, 2022

DALLAS (Dec. 9, 2022) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The 2022 BMW Dallas Marathon Festival weekend experience kicked off this morning, bringing together representatives from Scottish Rite for Children, the race’s primary beneficiary, and title sponsor BMW of North America.

This year will be Scottish Rite for Children’s 25th year of partnering with the marathon. Paul Lambert, president of runDallas, said the partnership has been an important one.

“We are very fortunate to be able to use our position in the Dallas community alongside BMW to support a world-class medical facility like Scottish Rite for Children that provides such inspiring services and programs to children across the region,” Lambert said. “We are continuously impressed with the impact they make on the lives of their patients and families and are proud to be a part of that each year.”

Since the festival named Scottish Rite for Children as their primary beneficiary in 1997, it has raised more than $4 million for the world-renowned institution. During the most recent race weekend in 2021, the festival presented the organization with a check for $47,000.

“We have had the privilege of being involved with the marathon for the last 25 years,” said Bob Walker, President and CEO of Scottish Rite for Children. Through the marathon, the amount of money that has been raised is remarkable. The marathon board has just done a wonderful job. We look forward to this event every year.”

Walker recognized this year’s Patient Champions, 13-year-old Preston, 10-year-old Alana, 13-year-old Lauren, and last year’s Junior Race Director 17-year-old Olivia, who will be running the 10K this year, for their courage and resilience. All of the patient champions will be cheering on participants throughout the weekend.

“I’m so excited to be a part of this,” Alana said. “I’m just so thankful for all that Scottish Rite has done for me and my family.”

In a telling display of partnership and for the fourth year in a row, BMW has wrapped vehicles with artwork from patients at Scottish Rite for Children. The artwork is a product of Scottish Rite’s one-of-a-kind art therapy program offered to its patients and their families funded in part by the BMW Dallas Marathon Festival. In addition, one lucky race participant will win $52,720 toward the BMW vehicle of their choice.

Mo Saleh, DFW Market President for BMW, said the company is thrilled to be partnering with the BMW Dallas Marathon Festival again this year.

“We’re very excited to be part of the 51^st year of this event,” Saleh said. “BMW has a pretty high bar to match to be able to match the performance of the athletes who are going to be running this weekend. We look forward to cheering on all of the participants this weekend.”

Weekend Events

The weekend-long festival will begin at 7 p.m., Dec. 9, with the third annual Friday Night Lights Mile. This is a two-lap Grand Prix-style race around Dallas City Hall Plaza that will include multiple heats for runners of all abilities. Things begin heating up on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 8:30 a.m. with the 10K Race, followed by the 5K Race at 8:45 a.m. By 10 a.m., it’s the kid’s turn to start racing, starting with the 100M Dash. At 11 a.m. the Oncor Kids’ Race will begin. Both kid’s events are free of charge.

Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m., the Full, Half and Ultra Marathons kick off. These races begin in downtown Dallas and showcase some of the most notable areas of the city. Along the course, there will be exciting cheer stations and on-course entertainment before the finish line at Dallas City Hall Plaza. In addition to these races, the two-person and five-person relays will also be held on Sunday. These team-building races will be held in both a half-marathon and marathon distance. Spectators can attend all events for free.

Race participants can expect to find delicious drinks and refreshments available. Food options will include, Tacodeli breakfast tacos, Eddie Deen chicken sandwiches, UCAN Energy Bars, GoGo squeeZ fruit pouches, blueberry muffins and bananas. Beverage options will include EIGHT Elite Light Lager, Tetra Pak Water, Gatorade, Chocolate Milk provided by Southwest Dairy Farmers. The Festival Weekend will also be in full holiday mode, overflowing with festive spirit and fun activities for the entire family to participate in.

For more information about the BMW Dallas Marathon Festival’s 51^st anniversary running, please visit rundallas.com. For unique story opportunities throughout the weekend, please contact Silver Hogue at Silver.Hogue@hck2.com or at (214) 697-3113.

About Dallas Marathon

The Dallas Marathon is a nonprofit organization with a focus on promoting health and physical fitness through running events and related activities. Dating back to 1971, the organization hosts year-round events culminating with Dallas’ largest and Texas’ longest running marathon: the BMW Dallas Marathon. Now in its 51th running, the marquee event, with 11 event distances to select from throughout the weekend of events, attracts runners from across the globe and tens of thousands of spectators to Dallas’ largest single-day sporting event. The BMW Dallas Marathon course highlights iconic Dallas landmarks and is recognized as the official marathon of the City of Dallas. Since naming a primary beneficiary in 1997, the Dallas Marathon has donated more than $4million to Scottish Rite for Children. For more information, visit rundallas.com.

About Scottish Rite for Children

Scottish Rite for Children is one of the nation’s leading pediatric orthopedic centers. A wide range of orthopedic conditions are treated, including sports injuries and fractures, as well as certain arthritic, neurological and learning disorders, such as dyslexia. Patients receive treatment regardless of the family’s ability to pay. For more information about services available at the Dallas or Frisco campus, volunteering or donating, visit scottishriteforchildren.org.

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 348 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 147 BMW motorcycle retailers, 121 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

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