Anyone can join Team TSA by visiting tsa-usa.org/teamtsa or by calling 1-888-4-TOURET to register as a Team TSA member for the 17th Annual Community Health Network Indianapolis Marathon & Half Marathon, Marathon Relay, 5K Run/Walk, or Kids Marathon or 1 Mile Fun Run. Participants can combine the personal fitness challenge of the Community Health Network Indianapolis Marathon events with fundraising and awareness for Tourette Syndrome Association. By fundraising as a Team TSA member, participants will receive a Team TSA t-shirt to wear on race day, and a fundraising page on the website. Anyone wishing to make a contribution to the Indy Team TSA may do so at tsa-usa.org/teamtsa.
“We are honored to partner with the Tourette Syndrome Association and Team TSA,” said Joel Sauer, president of Indianapolis Road Runners Club and race director of the Community Health Network Indianapolis Marathon & Half Marathon. “We are glad our event can be a catalyst for raising awareness and funds for research for a cure for a health condition that affects so many families.”
Charity Gifts
K.I.D.S., Inc. and Hope 2 Liberia were also announced as returning charity partners of the event.
K.I.D.S., Inc. (Kids in Discipleship and Service) is a community based organization with the goal of meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the youth within the urban areas of Indianapolis. A simple after-school program, K.I.D.S., Inc. opened the doors to their re-purposed building, an old public school in the Fountain Square area, and the kids came. Over the 17 year history as a direct charity partner, K.I.D.S., Inc. has received more than $220,000 from the Community Health Network Indianapolis Marathon & Half Marathon.
Hope 2 Liberia exists to provide safe drinking water to the entire country of Liberia. Currently, HOPE Centers are being built throughout the country to provide central water purification, and to house watering systems and companion holding tanks. HOPE Centers will also be used for secondary education as well as technical training for adults. Mason Wrisley is an 8 year old trying to raise awareness for the need for safe water in Liberia. His heart has rallied hundreds around this cause, creating the Mason and Me Team. The goal of the Mason and Me Team is to run to raise awareness of this need – we run to Water the Thirsty. If you want to run like an 8 year old and raise awareness and funds for Hope 2 Liberia, visit hope2liberia.org for more information.
Over the 17 year history, the Community Health Network Indianapolis Marathon & Half Marathon has raised directly and through charity training program partnerships over $600,000 for local charities and non-profit organizations.
“We’re so happy to have Team TSA, K.I.D.S. Inc. and Hope 2 Liberia on board for 2012,” Sauer said. “Through these partnerships, we can help give back to the local and broad-reaching passions of participants who have supported the growth of the Community Health Network Indianapolis Marathon & Half Marathon as a nationally-recognized event.”
About the 17th Annual Community Health Network Indianapolis Marathon & Half Marathon
Held at historic Fort Benjamin Harrison, the race celebrates its 17th year on October 20, 2012. The race is known for its beautiful course, outstanding organization and its wonderful post-race cookout. Registration online at (www.IndianapolisMarathon.com) is open until Thursday, October 18, and walk-up registration is available at the packet pick-up located at the Benjamin Harrison YMCA in Lawrence on Friday, October 19, from 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
The Marathon, Half Marathon and Marathon Relay start Saturday, October 20, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. at historic Fort Benjamin Harrison, weaving throughout scenic Lawrence, through Fort Harrison State Park and along the Fall Creek Greenway corridor. The 5K Run/Walk will start at 9:00 a.m., while the Kids Marathon and 1 Mile Fun Run will start at 12:45 p.m. All of the courses for the event have been officially certified with USA Track and Field.
Participants and their supporters are invited to the former army parade grounds of Lawton Loop for the post-race celebration that will include a delicious cookout, warming fire-pits, music, award presentations, and vendors. The Indianapolis Marathon Road Runners Club, a 501c3 non-profit organization, produces the event.
Partners of the 17th Annual Community Health Network Indianapolis Marathon & Half Marathon include: Community Health Network (title sponsor), The North Face, Athletic Annex, Gatorade, RRCA, The City of Lawrence, Fortune Academy, Benjamin Harrison YMCA
RRCA Indiana State Championship for the Half Marathon
The Community Health Network Indianapolis Marathon & Half Marathon is proud to host the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) 2012 Indiana State Half Marathon Championship. The following women’s and men’s divisions will be formally recognized in the Half Marathon by RRCA: Overall Champions, Masters Champions (40+), Grand-Masters Champions (50+) and Senior Grand-Masters Champions (60+). An official list of these RRCA 2012 Indiana Half Marathon State Champions will be available by Tuesday, October 23, 2012 at http://www.IndianapolisMarathon.com/results.html
Boston Marathon Qualifiers
The Community Health Network Indianapolis Marathon is proud to be an official Boston Marathon qualifying event for a 17th straight year. An official list of runners who qualified for Boston at this year’s event will be available by Tuesday, October 23, 2012 at http://www.IndianapolisMarathon.com/results.html
About Community Health Network
Ranked among the nation’s most integrated healthcare systems, Community Health Network is Central Indiana’s leader in access to innovative and compassionate healthcare services, where and when patients need them-in hospitals, in convenient health pavilions and doctors’ offices, in the workplace, at schools, in the home and online. As a non-profit health system with multiple sites of care and affiliates throughout Indiana, Community’s full continuum of care integrates hundreds of physicians, acute care and specialty hospitals, surgery centers, physician offices, home care services, walk-in care centers and employer health services. To put the needs and the convenience of patients first, Community pioneers advanced treatments and world-class health information technologies, with a focus on ease of access to exceptional care.
“Community Health Network is proud to be the Title Sponsor of the Indianapolis Marathon & Half Marathon,” says Bryan Mills, president and CEO of Community Health Network. “With our mission of preserving and improving health, we feel it is important to sponsor such events that promote active lifestyles for residents in Central Indiana.”
For more information, visit IndianapolisMarathon.com or find us on Facebook or Twitter @IndyMarathon. The start of the race makes for a great photo opportunity. Please call Michelle Lori for media credentials at (812) 944-4793 or (502) 664-8933.