Hi there,
Marathon Samsung is the largest international sports event in Israel and will be held this year for the eleventh time in the heart of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. I am happy to share some information from the press conference that was held for the occasion.
WHEN: February 22, 2019
The slogan for the event this year is "BE YOUR BEST" and invites all runners, amateur and professional, to do the best they can and join the over 100,000 people who are expected to take part in the marathon.
The event, which is being held at the initiative of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality and the production of the Kapaim company, will take place on Friday, Feb 22nd, 2019, with about 40,000 runners who will be taking part in one of the six spectacular urban routes: the Marathon (42.195 km), the Half Marathon (21 km), a 10 km route, a 5 km route, a handicap bike route and the mini marathon route for children to be held on Feb 20th, 2019 (500 meters and 1 km).
Above from Left to Right: Ofir Vagman, Director of Sports Office, Moti Ambram, Head of Municipal Sports Department, Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, Yael Arad, Head of the Professional Committee on the Olympics Commitee and Ronen Salem, VP Marketing, Samsung Israel.
Israel is keeping fit! According to a survey conducted for the Samsung Marathon in Tel Aviv, about 81.2% of men and 77% of women in Israel engage in physical activity.
The survey was conducted by the Geocartography Research Institute within the framework of a national sample survey of 500 respondents aged 18 and over.
The survey data showed that close to 80% of Israelis engage in physical activity and that 60% devote up to 5 hours per week. The proportion of those engaged in physical activity among those with a low level of education is about 10% lower than those with an academic education.
33% of respondents run for sports. The largest runner segment is aged 18-34 - close to 42% compared to only 13% over the age of 55.
53% of the runners said that they run alone, 26% like to run with a friend or relative and only 3% run with a fitness trainer.
With respect to location preference: about 70% of the runners prefer to run outdoors in a park or on the beach and about 12% prefer to run on a track at home or in the gym.
About 51% of the residents of Gush Dan noted that the city in which they live encourages physical activity, compared with a national average of nearly 44% of the participants who stated that the city in which they live encourages physical activity.
Last, but not least, the percentage of women is rising. In 2011, the percentage of men registering for the marathon was 73%, and women constituted only 27% of the total number of applicants. In 2019, 59% of the applicants are men, and 41% are women.
Top Left: With Yael Arad, Head of the Professional Committee on the Olympics Commitee . Top Right: Bracha 'Beatie' Deautsch winner of the National Half Marathon in Dec 2018. Bottom: Ron Huldai, Mayer of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, Yael Arad, Head of the Professional Committee on the Olympics Commitee and Ronen Salem, VP Marketing, Samsung Israel.
Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa stated that this year's route will pass through the main streets, during which the audience will be able to enjoy the diversity and colorfulness of Tel Aviv-Jaffa and its residents. He also mentioned that the Tel-Aviv-Jaffa Marathon, has become an international event, attracting tourists from all over the world, and a great celebration, not only for athletes, but for all the city's residents and visitors. It encourages physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle in the city. He concluded by wishing success and enjoyment to all the participants and invited all the residents of the city to take part in the experience.
Left to Right: Ronen Salem, VP Marketing, Samsung Israel and Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa.
SAMSUNG Israel announced that the "Samsung Marathon of Tel Aviv 2019" will be dedicated this year for the purpose of donating food to needy families. The contribution will be made by converting the calories burned by the runners during the marathon to food products, and will therefore be called the "calorie marathon" race. The number of calories burned by each participant will be counted and collected, and at the end of the race the total calories burned by all runners will be exchanged by Samsung for food products. For example, if 500,000 calories are burned, these will be converted into thousands of food products that together contain 500,000 calories. The food products will be packaged in special boxes and donated to needy families just before Passover. More participants = more calories = more packages. The contribution will be made LIVE, so that the runners will not have to settle for just knowing that they are contributing, but will also see the contribution taking place before their eyes from the moment the Marathon kit is received to the finish line.
Ronen Salem, VP Marketing, Samsung Israel stated that for the past 6 years, Samsung has found the Tel Aviv Marathon, the largest sports event in the country, as an excellent opportunity to harness tens of thousands of people for a worthy cause. This year, it was decided to take advantage of the event to make sure that as many families as possible are able to celebrate Passover in a dignified manner, alongside a table filled with good food.
Photo Credit: Ronen Topelberg
Nike unveiled the Samsung Marathon T-shirts in Tel-Aviv during the press conference. This is the first year in which the sports giant is the official sports partner of the largest running event in Israel. For the first time there will be two official marathon shirts The full runners who will be going the distance of 42.2 km will receive a black shirt displaying the running distance and will be distinguishable from the rest of the runners who will be participating in one of the other shorter tracks and will receive shirts in a shade called "sunset glow".
Photo Credit: Both shirt photos were provided by the Kapaim Studio
Shachar Hirsh, CEO of Nike Israel stated that Nike's role as the world's largest sports company is to inspire athletes of all levels and to encourage the rest of the runners to dream about the next big achievement. As such, Nike provides runners with the world's most advanced products, based on years of research and development along with Nike's elite athletes. The Marathon shirt of the Samsung Marathon Tel Aviv is based on the most advanced technologies and materials. It is the official Nike shirt in world-wide racing, a shirt developed to give athletes the optimal conditions to achieve great achievements.
Left to Right: Shachar Hirsch, CEO of Nike Israel and Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa.
This year, the Samsung Marathon will continue to embrace dozens of associations and to support social involvement and contribution to the community, with a social track that will enable marathon participants to take advantage of their participation in the race to raise funds for various associations.
According to data from the Kapaim company, more than 25,000 participants have already secured their place. It is expected that most of the participants will complete registration before January 24th, when the discounted registration ends.
As a member of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), the Samsung Marathon Tel Aviv attracts elite runners from around the world who come especially to Israel in order to compete in the flat and urban route that characterizes Tel Aviv-Jaffa and its lively streets. This year, about 2,500 runners from around the world, including elite runners, will try to break the two-hour, 10-minute and 30-second marathon records. The current record was set by runner Williams Kiprono Yagon from Kenya in 2015. A record breaker that sets a score of 2:07:59 or less will win a prize of $40,000.
The starting point will be located on Rokach Boulevard (between Ganei Yehoshua Park and the Fairs Center), from where the runners will separate into the various routes that will be distinguishable by color and will pass through the main sites of the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Along the route, the runners will also pass through Rothschild Boulevard, the Tel Aviv Port and the beaches, Reading Promenade, Ganei Yehoshua Park, Dizengoff Street, Rabin Square, Hayarkon Street, Ibn Gvirol Street, Old Jaffa and Jaffa Port. The Samsung Marathon Tel Aviv-Jaffa is one of the only marathons in the world with 10 kilometers of its route along the beach.
This year, kit distribution of the runners' kits will be distributed at designated sites in five central locations, in order to enable the runners to collect the kits easily and conveniently: Ayalon Mall, Ramat Aviv Mall, Gindi Mall TLV, Dizengoff Center and Tel Aviv Port.
The running kit includes: an innovative Dry-Fit NIKE running shirt, a personal chest number, a disposable electronic chip and a variety of treats, deals and benefits.
The Tel-Aviv mini marathon - the children's marathon of the Samsung Marathon Tel-Aviv, will be held at Sarona on Wednesday, Feb 20th, 2019, with the participation of about 2,000 boys and girls. The children will run in a fun family atmosphere along two available tracks: 500 meters and a 1,000 meter track with recreation areas and activities for the whole family.
The traditional pasta party of the marathon that will be attended by marathoners and senior runners, will take place on Thursday, Feb 21st, 2019, in the marathon compound on Rokach Boulevard.
This year, during Marathon Week a "Cinemarathon Festival" will be held at Cinematheque Tel Aviv portraying Israel's sports films throughout the marathon weekend from Wednesday to Saturday. The sports films will be accompanied by panels of athletes and opinion leaders.
For registration, maps of the routes and additional information, please refer to the OFFICIAL MARATHON WEBSITE.
Best, Talma
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