The 13th Annual Harlem Renaissance Road Race (HRRR) will kick off its historic landmark run/walk on September 18th at 10:00AM. Sugar Ray Robinson II, son of boxing legend Sugar Ray Robinson, and former Director of the Roadrunner’s Club Peter Roth, will join local officials in the race to bring awareness to the obesity problem in urban areas, while promoting a healthier, educated community.
The race, managed by Shar-ron Corley, will consist of a five-mile route, a youth one mile run, an Achilles and Pee-Wee Race plus a two-mile health walk, which will begin at the Harlem YMCA on 135th Street.
In New York City, obesity has become an epidemic. More than half of adult New Yorkers are overweight (34%) or obese (22%). Nearly half of all elementary school children and Head Start children are not a healthy weight. In the City alone, 1 in 5 kindergarten students, and 1 in 4 Head Start children are obese.
State Senator Bill Perkins and Council Member Robert Jackson will join the runners, while Council Member Inez Dickens will honor the participants. Winners will participate in an awards ceremony following the race. Runners will pass architectural structures and cultural institutions, such as Heart-Break Hill, Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill (area of City College), Striver’s Row and Lafayette College (where Paul Robeson was discovered), which helped to shape the historic neighborhood, now in its 361st year of existence.
HRRR, a 501(c) (3), was founded in 1997, by Preston H. King, Jr., New York CitiWorks Chairman, the late Abdul El Amin, community leader and Peter Roth, Emeritus Board Member of the NY Road Runners Club and several others out of a mutual passion for running and a desire to keep the sport alive in Harlem.
Participants can pre-register online for the event until September 17th. Same day registration for the 2010 Harlem Renaissance Road Race will run from 8:30-9:30AM. Registration proceeds and sponsorship funds will go toward providing scholarships for young people in the area.
Sugar Ray Robinson was a professional boxer, at the height of his career during the Harlem Renaissance. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson’s performances at the walterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create “pound for pound” rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
WHEN: Saturday, September 18, 2010 – 9:00AM
WHERE: Harlem YMCA, 180 W.135th St. and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.
WHO: Sugar Ray Robinson II, State Senator Bill Perkins, Council Member Inez Dickens, Council Member Robert Jackson, HRRR founders Preston H. King, Jr.; MBA, CPA and Emeritus Board Member of the NY Road Runners Club Peter Roth
SUPPOTERS/
SPONSORS: SoNu Beverages, WBLS Radio, New York CitiWorks Inc., The Sugar Robinson Legacy Project, The Harlem YMCA, East Modulate Entertainment, Sykes Global Communications, HIIP (Higher Intelligence Inspiring Progress), Salem United Methodist Church, St. Nicholas Residents Housing Association, LLC-ARC Fund Inc., Runner’s World Magazine and African Runner, Inc
TO REGISTER: www.harlemrace.com
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