New Yorkers to Run For Haiti in Central Park 2/20

On Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 9:00 a.m., New York City's Haiti Relief Fund, in collaboration with New York Road Runners, will be hosting a Run for Haiti. The run will start at East Drive near 68th Street and will end at 72nd Street Transverse near the Bandshell in Central Park, Manhattan.

All entry fees for the Run for Haiti are going directly to New York City's Haiti Relief Fund, which is administered by the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, and directed to the following organizations: the American Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, Partners in Health, Save the Children, UNICEF, and the United Nations World Food Programme.

Entry fees are $40 and more than 8,000 people have registered. The Run for Haiti will include pre-race and post-race activities for families, including free kids races and entertainment featuring Haitian music and performances.

New York City's Haiti Relief Fund was established to provide a secure vehicle for donations to aid the victims of the January 12, 2010 earthquake. The Mayor's Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, serves as an umbrella not-for-profit organization for the City of New York to aid public programs with private support.

To make a donation call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov/fund. To mail a donation, checks can be made payable to the Mayor's Fund, One Centre Street, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10007 (note: Haiti Relief Fund).

For additional information on the race including registration details, please visit the New York Road Runners' website at www.nyrr.org.

In an effort to expand the scope of this event, past marathon champions including Grete Waitz, Paula Radcliffe and Meb Keflezighi, along with runners around the globe, have pledged to participate in a four-mile virtual run through MapMyRun.com. This entry fee ($30) will also go directly to New York City's Haiti Relief Fund. More information on the virtual run can be found at http://www.mapmyrun.com/virtual_event/ny_haiti/index.