FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month introduces ambassadors Dean Karnazes and Bart Yasso

 

Pittsburgh, Pa., April 12, 2010 -- Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month today named legendary running spokespersons Dean Karnazes and Bart Yasso as ambassadors to promote the company’s major running initiative scheduled for May.

 

As ambassadors for Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month, these two icons of the running world will play an active role in the event’s promotion and encourage people across the country to get out and go for a run.  The pair will appear at select races on the official Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month Event Calendar and lead group runs in various markets from now through June.  Karnazes and Yasso will also contribute weekly training, nutrition, and fitness tips on the Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month website and help promote Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month events and activities on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Dean Karnazes is the "Ultramarathon Man" and bestselling author recently ranked by a Time magazine poll as one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World."  Karnazes is an accomplished ultramarathon competitor and endurance athlete known for pushing his body to inconceivable limits.  Karnazes' epic feats include running 50 marathons, in all 50 states, in 50 consecutive days, finishing with the New York City Marathon, which he completed in three hours and thirty seconds.  Thousands of other runners joined him at points along the way, and collectively they helped to issue a wake-up call to this country that it is time to get off the couch and reclaim our health.  A frequent speaker to schools and youth groups, Karnazes travels the country, meeting and running with people of all ages to promote the importance of physical exercise and a good diet.

 

"I'm thrilled to advocate healthy and active living as an ambassador for Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month and inspire others to be the best that they can be," said Dean Karnazes.  "Let's get out there and celebrate running this May!" said Karnazes.

 

Dubbed the "Mayor of Running," Bart Yasso is one of the best-known figures in the sport.  Yasso is the Chief Running Officer at Runner's World magazine. He joined Runner's World in 1987 to develop the groundbreaking Runner's World Race Sponsorship Program, creating a vehicle for Runner's World to work with over 7,000 races representing four million runners per year.  Inducted into the Running USA Hall of Champions, Yasso also invented the "Yasso 800s," a marathon-training schedule used by thousands around the world.  Yasso has competed in more than 1,000 races and is one of the few people to have completed races on all seven continents from the Antarctica marathon to the Mt. Kilimanjaro marathon.  His recent book "My Life on the Run: The Wit, Wisdom, and Insights of a Road Racing Icon" shares the wisdom of a seasoned insider and Yasso's enduring message: Never limit where running can take you.

 

"It's a shame not to lace up your shoes in May when the weather is so perfect!" said Bart Yasso.  "As an ambassador for Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month, I look forward to meeting and motivating runners of all ages and abilities and sharing how running is not only healthy, but a gateway for adventure," said Bart Yasso.

 

"We're delighted to introduce Dean and Bart as Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month ambassadors to help us celebrate and promote running," said Jeff Hennion, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Dick's Sporting Goods.  "Dean and Bart are true icons in their sport," said Hennion.  "They are supremely accomplished athletes with a special ability to inspire runners wherever they go," said Hennion.

 

About Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month

May is Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month, an initiative to promote running and highlight the retailer's deep commitment to serving runners.  Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month includes major event sponsorship, Web, social media, mobile marketing, store promotions, and other activities aimed at helping runners enjoy their sport.  The official Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month Event Calendar includes the following ten races:

 

            •           Alexandria Running Festival, Washington, D.C., May 2

            •           Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 2

            •           Chuy's Hot to Trot, Austin, Texas, May 8

            •           Palos Verdes Marathon, Los Angeles, California, May 15

            •           Strawberry Festival, San Diego, California, May 30

            •           Brentwood 10K, Los Angeles, California, May 30

            •           Stillwater Marathon, Stillwater, Minnesota, May 30

            •           Ridge Run 10K, Chicago, Illinois, May 31

            •           Dick's Sporting Goods Bolder Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, May 31

            •           Starlight Run, Portland, Oregon, June 5

 

Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month benefits Team Fox to raise funds and awareness for Parkinson's disease research.

 

For more information, visit www.nationalrunnersmonth.com

 

About Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.

Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. is an authentic full-line sporting goods retailer offering a broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel, and footwear in a specialty store environment. The Company currently operates 419 Dick's Sporting Goods stores in 40 states primarily throughout the eastern half of the U.S. The Company also owns Golf Galaxy, Inc., a multi-channel golf specialty retailer, with 91 stores in 31 states, e-commerce websites and catalog operations. www.dickssportinggoods.com

 

 

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Media Contacts

Brock Foreman

Dick's Sporting Goods National Runners' Month

207-233-7968

brock.foreman@gmail.com