Posted: January 13, 2005

Athletics: Nine-Time ING New York City Marathon Champion Grete Waitz to be Honored at 25th Annual Thurman Munson Awards Dinner on Feb 1

Gala Benefits the Association for the Help of Retarded Children

NEW YORK - (January 12, 2005) - Nine-time ING New York City Marathon champion Grete Waitz will be honored at the 25th silver anniversary Thurman Munson Awards Dinner on Tuesday night, February 1, 2005, to benefit the Association for the Help of Retarded Children at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

Waitz won the five-borough race in 1978-80, 1982-86 and 1988. No man or woman has won the race more times than the former Norwegian schoolteacher. She is one of a select few "runners" like Marty Liguori and Carl Lewis to receive a Munson Award. New York Road Runners president and CEO and ING New York City Marathon race director Allan Steinfeld will present Waitz.

Waitz will be joined by Olympic gold medalists Carly Patterson and Paul Hamm, Yankee slugger Gary Sheffield; Mets centerfielder Mike Cameron and former Knicks star/ESPN basketball commentator Mark Jackson in receiving Munson Awards for their excellence in competition and their philanthropic work within the community. The Yes Network's Bobby Murcer, the ex-Yankee star, will receive the Legend Award for his lone and meritorious service to baseball. For tickets and information on the Munson Awards Dinner, contact (212) 888-7003.

The dinner remembers the late, great Yankee catcher Thurman Munson who died tragically in a 1979 plane crash. Thurman's widow Diana Munson has been involved in the dinner since its inception 25 years ago and will attend. The Association for the Help of Retarded Children is a not-for-profit organization with many programs that enable people with developmental disabilities to lead richer, more productive lives.

Previous Munson honorees and teammates who will be in attendance include: Rick Cerone, Roy White, Ed Figueroa, Marty Lyons and Karl Nelson.

The Munson Awards Dinner has previously honored such notables as Muhammad Ali, Yogi Berra, Don Mattingly, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Joe Torre, Bernie Williams, Arthur Ashe, Willis Reed, Willie Mays, Tom Seaver and John Franco, just to name a few.

The Association for the Help of Retarded Children is the largest organization of its kind, serving 11,000 children and adults who have mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injuries and other developmental disabilities. For more information on the AHRC, go to: www.ahrcnyc.org

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.