Posted: March 8, 2005

Athletics: Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon And Road Of Life Team Up To Recruit Walkers And Aid Cancer Prevention For Kids

Ohio-Based Organization to Become Official Charity of New Walking Divisions in Marathon and Half-Marathon

CLEVELAND, (March 8, 2005) – Athletes signing up to walk in the inaugural marathon and half-marathon walking divisions of the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K will be supporting a charitable organization focused on cancer prevention for kids. Road of Life will be the official charity for the new walking divisions and a portion of the registration fees for all walkers will go to benefit the organization’s cancer prevention programs. Road of Life believes that the most effective and efficient way to prevent cancer is educating children about healthy lifestyle choices, and developing new habits in the ways young people eat and exercise. According to the American Cancer Society, evidence suggests that a third of the more than half million cancer deaths that occur in the United States each year are due to unhealthy diet and insufficient physical activity and another third are due to tobacco use.

“Partnering with the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K provides us with a wonderful opportunity to promote our message and programming,” said founder Rob Emrich.

“We’re delighted to have Road of Life as one of our partners and we look forward to a long relationship with them,” said Ralph Staph, race director of the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K.

Emrich founded Road of Life, based in Columbus, Ohio, as the programming arm of The Keren Emrich Foundation. The foundation is named in memory of Emrich’s younger sister who died of cancer.

To help aid Road of Life and its mission, everyone entering the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K, can create their own personal fundraising web page. The web site, located at www.active.com/donate/roadoflife2005 is easy to use and allows both runners and walkers to generate personalized letters and donor email lists, set fundraising goals, and track donations. “One of the main themes of Road of Life’s programming is getting people active, no matter what their circumstances,” said Emrich. “Most people are intimidated by the idea of running a marathon, but working towards walking one, or even walking a half-marathon is something that almost anyone can accomplish with the proper preparation.”

The marathon course for the 28th Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K will be open a full eight hours. The race, for both walkers and runners, begins at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 22.

To register for the race and raise money for Road of Life, visit the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K website at www.clevelandmarathon.com, or call (800) 467-3826.

To learn more about Road of Life and its cancer prevention programming, visit www.roadoflife.org, or call (800) 850-9082.

About the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K The Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K is now in its 28th year of providing a running experience for all individuals who want to participate regardless of their abilities. More than 250,000 runners have participated, generating more than $6.8 million annually to benefit the Cleveland community and raising more than $1 million for various charities.

Sponsors of the 28th Annual Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K include:

Rite Aid Alpine Springs Natural Spring Water
American Greetings Miller Brewing
Lamisil Tablets Carb Boom Energy Gel
Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield WKYC-TV3
Hershey’s Payday Pro WAKS Kiss 96.5 FM
Coca-Cola WGAR 99.5 FM
Sports Health/Cleveland Clinic WMJI Magic 105.7 FM
Asics WMMS 100.7 FM
Galleria at Erieview WMVX Mix 106.5 FM
Powerade WTAM 1100 AM
Panera Bread