NBC & Universal Sports to Present Multi-Platform Coverage of NYC Marathon, 11/6

Universal Sports Network and NBC Sports will provide more than 10 hours combined of television and online coverage of the 2011 ING New York City Marathon this Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. ET. The marathon will air live on Universal Sports Network, with live streaming available on NYCMarathon.org and UniversalSports.com presented by MOTOACTV from Motorola.

NBC will present a two-hour marathon special from 2-4 p.m. ET. The television and online coverage will showcase the 26.2-mile race featuring more than 45,000 runners traversing New York City's five boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan, and finish in world-famous Central Park.

COVERAGE ON UNIVERSAL SPORTS: Universal Sports Network will present LIVE coverage of the 2011 ING New York City Marathon this Sunday, including pre-race and post-race studio shows. The network's 30-minute Pre-Race Show presented by Skechers will begin at 9 a.m. ET and will feature interviews with 2009 ING New York City Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi, Inside Endurance athlete Ryan Sutter and Global Senior Director of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) Asker Jeukendrup. In addition, it will profile other race favorites and will review the marathon course. The studio shows will be hosted by Paul Sunderland alongside analyst and elite distance runner Josh Cox.

COVERAGE ON NBC SPORTS: NBC Sports will air same-day taped coverage of the Marathon from 2 - 4 p.m. ET. The two hours of coverage is the only national over-the-air television coverage of any major marathon outside of the Olympics. Coverage is hosted by NBC Sports' Jimmy Roberts.
Headlining this year's men's field are 2010 ING New York City Marathon champion Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia, 2009 champion Meb Keflezighi of the USA, 2011 Virgin London Marathon champion Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya, Olympians Juan Luis Barrios of Mexico and Jaouad Gharib of Morocco, reigning Boston Marathon champion Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya, Ethiopian Olympic and World Championships medalist Tsegaye Kebede, Moroccan Olympian Abdellah Falil, and American debut marathoners Bobby Curtis and Ed Moran.

Making their ING New York City Marathon debuts are 2011 IAAF World Championships Marathon bronze medalist, Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia, 2010 SportZone Half-Marathon (Portugal) champion Stephen Kibet of Kenya, three-time Rome Marathon champion Firehiwot Dado of Ethiopia and World Championships medalist Werknesh Kidane of Ethiopia, along with the second-fastest half-marathoner in the world this year, Matthew Kisorio of Kenya, running his first full marathon ever.

In the women's race, runners include three-time U.S. Olympian Jen Rhines, New Zealand Olympian Kim Smith, British Olympian Jo Pavey, 2010 Virgin London Marathon runner-up Inga Abitova of Russia, who finished in fourth place last year, Portugal's championship long-distance duo of Jéssica Augusto and Ana Dulce Félix, U.S. debut marathoners Lauren Fleshman and Molly Pritz, reigning Boston Marathon champion Caroline Kilel of Kenya, 2011 London winner Mary Keitany of Kenya, 2011 Honda L.A. Marathon champion Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia, Swedish marathon record-holder Isabellah Andersson, and Galina Bogomolova, Russia's second-fastest marathoner ever. Also competing is former World Cross Country champion and World Championships medalist Werknesh Kidane of Ethiopia, whose husband, Gebre Gebremariam, will defend his title in the men's race.

This year's celebrity roster features more than 20 names from a wide range of disciplines, from sports to television to music. Most of them will race for one of the more than 200 charities involved in this year's ING New York City Marathon's charity program, which is projected to raise more than $26.2 million, or roughly $1 million per mile. Among those racing are Inside Endurance athlete Ryan Sutter (Inside Endurance/Gatorade), U.S. Olympian speed skater Apolo Ohno (Subway), U.S. Olympian softball player Jennie Finch (Timex), The Weather Channel meteorologist Stephanie Abrams, Hall of Fame hockey player Mark Messier (New York Police & Fire Widow's and Children's Benefit Fund and Tomorrows Children's Fund), model Christy Turlington (Every Mother Counts), model/actress Veronica Webb (Harlem United) and Grammy Award-Winning artist Mýa (North Shore Animal League America).

 

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