Posted: November 21, 2007

Athletics: Hartford to Join ING-Sponsored Family of Marathons

From David Monti © 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com ING, the Dutch financial giant which already sponsors marathons from Amsterdam to Taipei, has added Hartford, Conn., to its stable of races, organizers announced today. The event, held every October, will now be known as the ING Marathon & Half-Marathon. "When ING gets behind a race, we know they're serious about creating an exceptional experience for runners, spectators and everyone involved," said Beth Shluger, race director and marathon founder through a media release. "We're thrilled to have ING as our new title sponsor, helping to make this event even better by drawing elite runners from around the world and offering tremendous value to the region." With some 2000 employees in the Hartford area, sponsoring the marathon in Connecticut's largest city looked to be a natural choice for ING, which replaces the the previous title sponsor, United Technologies Corp. (UTC). UTC, another prominent Hartford-area company, will remain on-board as a presenting sponsor, organizers said, and will continue to work on innovative ways to make the Hartford Marathon greener and more sustainable. An example from the 2007 race was the 40-spout water fountain that quenched thirsts at the finish line while eliminating the need for an estimated 10,000 plastic water bottles. ING has become a significant force in road running sponsorships. Its signature property is the ING New York City Marathon, of which they became title sponsor in 2003 in a multi-million dollar deal. They also sponsor marathons in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Brussels, Enschede, Luxembourg, Miami, Ottawa, and Taipei plus the popular Bay to Breakers 12-K in San Francisco, one of America's largest running events. The ING Hartford Marathon recorded 1571 finishers in 2007, up from 1285 in 2006. The half-marathon was larger with 2471 finishers, and 705 runners completed the companion 5-K. Ethiopian Mohammed Awol (2:17:15) and Ukrainian Tatiana Belovol (2:42:19) were the 2006 marathon champions, each earning $6,000. The 2008 edition of the race, the 15th running, is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest