ING Adds Ottawa Marathon to its Collection of Running Events

Even though its marathoner CEO Ewald Kist is set to retire next year, ING, the Dutch insurance and financial services giant, is still very much ‘in the running.’

Yesterday the company announced that it would assume title sponsorship of the Ottawa Marathon, Canada’s premier running event. Ottawa now joins the ING New York City Marathon, the ING Brussels Marathon and the ING Amsterdam Marathon as the fourth city in the ING Globerunners series.

In a second announcement organizers reported that the Ottawa Marathon, part of the National Capital Race Weekend, has been designated as the host of the 2004 Canadian National Marathon Championship by Athletics Canada, making the ING Ottawa marathon a qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The Ottawa Marathon will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a new one-loop course on May 30, 2004.

The association with ING involves a long-term multi-year commitment to the ING Ottawa Marathon and is aimed at improving the experience for the runners, the participants as well as the spectators. “Ottawa has so many of the ingredients we wanted for our Globerunners initiative in Canada: reputation, history, a terrific course, a high level of public participation and support as well as a great organization,” stated Rick Howe, Ottawa Regional Vice-President for ING Canada. “ING is excited to be involved in what we feel is one of the best running events in Canada and we look forward to welcoming more than 20,000 participants on Sunday, May 30.”

Susan Longbottom, President of the National Capital Race Weekend, commented: “Our association with ING is an amazing opportunity for our running event and the City of Ottawa. By joining the ING Globerunners series, our marathon will be recognized among the elite races around the world, which is terrific news for us. ING’s dedication and commitment to the sport of distance running is obvious and they share our vision for the future of running in Canada.”

Topics Canada