New York Road Runners Launches NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the New Balance Run Hub Conveniently Located in Manhattan

NYRR RUNCENTER will feature special 1 for You 1 for Youth shoe donation program and exclusive New Balance Test Run initiative

New York, NY and Boston, MA – January 11, 2017—New York Road Runners’ (NYRR) mission to help and inspire people through running has been brought to life in a new community running center. The NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the New Balance Run Hub is open in Manhattan as the new home for runners of all ages and abilities throughout the five boroughs and beyond. The NYRR RUNCENTER will also feature the 1 for You 1 for Youth shoe donation program, benefitting NYRR youth runners in New York City and nationwide. The NYRR RUNCENTER serves as the strategic next step in the year-round alliance with New Balance, which was announced in December 2015.  

“We are so excited to bring the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the NB Run Hub to our extraordinary running community,” said Michael Capiraso, president and CEO of New York Road Runners. “Our mission is to inspire our community, and those coming to NYC to run, to come together to improve their health and well-being through running, and enjoy the diverse events, programs, and offerings at the RUNCENTER. We are especially looking forward to positively impacting thousands of young runners with our 1 for You 1 for Youth shoe donation program, as part of our exciting new partnership with New Balance.”  

The NYRR RUNCENTER is home to the 1 for You 1 for Youth* program. For each pair of shoes purchased at the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the NB Run Hub, New Balance will donate a pair of shoes to NYRR’s youth programs. New York Road Runners will give the shoes to a participant in the programs. In celebration of the opening of the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the New Balance Run Hub, 100+ pairs of shoes were donated to youth runners from across New York City’s five boroughs. 215,000 youth are served nationally through NYRR’s free youth running programs and events, including 115,000 in New York City’s five boroughs.

The NYRR RUNCENTER, located at 320 West 57th Street, is conveniently situated just southwest of Columbus Circle near Central Park with access to multiple public transportation options, making it highly accessible from all five boroughs. The NYRR RUNCENTER will serve as the spot for weekly race number pickup, showcase the latest in running education, training, and innovation, host a variety of running-related events and programs, and serve as a meeting place for all members of the running community, including youth, adult runners of all ages and abilities, and club teams.

The NYRR RUNCENTER will include numerous areas for runner engagement:

“We are excited to take this next step with NYRR and open the NB Run Hub in NYC as we bring our year-round relationship into full engagement in 2017,” says New Balance president and CEO Rob DeMartini. “This location will be the pinnacle expression of New Balance Performance Running, offering the most innovative gear and programming such as exclusive product launches, special events, clinics and the opportunity to meet and learn from the athletes of Team NB. We look forward to working together with NYRR to help improve the lives of athletes who come and run the streets of New York.”

In addition, the NYRR RUNCENTER is home to some of the latest digital innovations, including interactive programming featuring Team NB Athlete, five-time 5^th Avenue Mile champion and Olympic medalist Jenny Simpson. The Run for Life touch screen wall will allow users to perform exercises along with Jenny in a dynamic fashion and receive feedback in real-time regarding form and performance.

The opening is part of a relationship between NYRR and New Balance which gradually launched initiatives throughout 2016, and reaches full engagement in 2017. The relationship covers a wide range of areas including event sponsorship, youth programming and global licensing, as well as e-commerce and retail rights for footwear and apparel. The alliance brings together one of the world’s premier community running organizations and a leading athletic brand to serve the global running community in innovative and inspiring ways.

In 2017, New Balance became an NYRR Foundation Partner and the Official Athletic Footwear and Apparel Partner of NYRR. The year-round engagement features sponsorship of the NYRR Five-Borough Series (United Airlines NYC Half, Airbnb Brooklyn Half, NYRR Queens 10K, New Balance Bronx 10 Mile, and NYRR Staten Island Half), NYRR Heritage Races (NYRR New York Mini 10K, New Balance 5th Avenue Mile, and NYRR Midnight Run) and the TCS New York City Marathon. New Balance is also a sponsor of NYRR’s weekly races, as well as the exclusive producer of all race shirts for runners throughout the year, a first for NYRR. New Balance also manages NYRR’s e-commerce platform.

Gensler Architecture, Design & Planning, P.C. was the lead architecture firm for the NYRR RUNCENTER.

The NYRR RUNCENTER will be open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The NB Run Hub will be open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Founded in 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization, whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. NYRR’s commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, community events, youth running initiatives, school programs, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year, from children to seniors, with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR’s premier event, and the largest marathon in the world, is the TCS New York City Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features 50,000 runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the Premier Partner of New York Road Runners. To learn more, visit www.nyrr.org.

New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA has the following mission: Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host. New Balance is the only major company to make or assemble more than 4 million pairs of athletic footwear per year in the USA, which represents a limited portion of our US sales. Where the domestic value is at least 70%, we label our shoes Made in the USA. New Balance owns five factories in New England and one in Flimby, U.K. New Balance employs more than 5,000 associates around the globe, and in 2015 reported worldwide sales of $3.72 billion. To learn more about New Balance, please visit www.newbalance.com and for the latest press information please visit http://newbalance.newsmarket.com.

*1 FOR YOU 1 FOR YOUTH DISCLOSURE: For every pair of athletic shoes sold to a customer at the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the NB Run Hub in New York City, New Balance shall donate a pair of new athletic shoes to New York Road Runners, a 501(c)(3) public charity, for the benefit of a New York Road Runners supported youth program, up to a maximum value of $500,000 based on New Balance’s then current wholesale pricing. This Promotion shall run from December 12, 2016 to December 31, 2017. For more information about New York Road Runners visit nyrr.org.