Wearables specialist Fitbit has announced a two-year partnership with the New York Road Runners designed to provide runners of all levels with ‘relevant data, inspiration and guidance to reach their goals at the TCS New York City Marathon’. This latest sponsor partnership builds on recent deals with other major marathons and half marathons including the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon and the Paris Half-Marathon (Semi de Paris).
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, is the premier partner of the event organiser New York Road Runners and the title sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon. The 46th running of the TCS New York City Marathon is set for 6 November 2016.
The association between Fitbit, the first-ever official fitness tracker partner of theNew York City Marathon and the largest marathon in the world, extends beyond race day, encouraging runners to participate in enriching community-building activities and to use Fitbit’s platform of activity trackers and mobile tools to perform at their personal best.
“At Fitbit, we’re all about inspiring people to reach their health and fitness goals – whether that’s shaving a few minutes from a marathon personal best, or running in their very first race,” said Tim Rosa, VP of Global Marketing at Fitbit.
“By joining forces with the largest marathon in the world, we’re going to help even more people by giving them meaningful tools and motivation to do their best. Today’s news is just the beginning as we work to deepen our partnership with the New York Road Runners organization.”
“We are excited to welcome Fitbit as a partner of New York Road Runners, and the official fitness tracker for the TCS New York City Marathon,” said Sarah Cummins, head of business development and strategic partnerships at New York Road Runners.
“Fitbit’s track record of helping people lead healthier more active lives makes them a great new partner to our community. With Fitbit’s help, we’ll further carry out our mission of helping and inspiring people through running.”
Train like a champion
As part of its brand activation at the New York City Marathon, Fitbit is presenting an opportunity to train like Fitbit Ambassador Ryan Hall. As the current American record holder in the half marathon and marathon, Hall created a unique 10-week plan for advanced runners who are training regularly based on his experience and knowledge of the sport. The plans contain daily tips and guidance to help them prepare for the race and are available for download on Fitbit’s website.
“Based on my own training experiences and methods, I’ve designed a plan for runners that will help them train strong and feel great heading into the marathon,” said Hall, elite runner and Fitbit Ambassador.
“Proper training includes keeping track of way more than just distance, pace and heart rate. Nutrition, hydration and sleep are also incredibly important in promoting proper muscle recovery and preventing injury – these are all things Fitbit enables that you can track with your Fitbit device to train smarter as you get ready for the starting line in New York City.”
The Fitbit platform – consisting of activity trackers and mobile and social tools – provides motivation and aims to enable people to be more active, exercise more, sleep better, eat smarter, and manage their weight – all key components when training for a marathon.
Fitbit activity trackers
- All-day, activity tracking: Fitbit offers a full line of wearable health and fitness devices that automatically track daily steps, calories burned, distance travelled, floors climbed and active minutes so users get insight into their most important stats. Select Fitbit devices also feature SmartTrack to automatically track common exercises like biking, running and other sports.
- GPS tracking: Fitbit Surge and Fitbit Blaze use GPS tracking for real-time actionable stats like distance and pace right on the wrist, so users can make instant changes. Following runs, see route, pace and split times on the Fitbit mobile app or online dashboard to compare performance over different parts of the run and make adjustments to improve.
- PurePulse heart rate tracking: Fitbit Surge, Fitbit Blaze and Fitbit Charge HR use continuous wrist-based heart rate tracking to help optimize workouts using simplified heart rate zones and let users track resting heart rate to see how cardiovascular fitness is improving – ‘all without an uncomfortable chest strap’.
- Multi-sport and exercise modes: Fitbit Surge, Fitbit Blaze and Fitbit Charge HR let users record cross-training and other activities beyond running – yoga, cycling, weight-lifting – to see stats like workout intensity and calories burned for a full picture of training in prep for the big race.
- Automatic sleep detection: Tracking how long and how well users sleep, illustrating where adjustments in lifestyle might be necessary during training for better recovery and performance.
Mobile and social tools
- FitStar Personal Trainer and Yoga Apps: Virtual coaching through customized fitness plans and interactive workouts let users stream video workouts anytime, anywhere to build strength, gain flexibility and maintain endurance.
- Nutrition and Hydration Tracking: Log food and water intake within the Fitbit app to monitor calories in vs. calories out to get the right amount of hydration and fuel while training for race day.
- Motivation: Social connectivity with friends and family on the Fitbit app provide added support to train, motivate, and challenge each other to reach a next training milestone.
- Strava Integration: Fitbit and Strava offer a unique, two-way integration empowering users to track all day activity, exercise and maximize workouts, as well as connect, compete and engage with other performance athletes on Strava.
Connect with Fitbit at the TCS New York City Marathon
To kick-off New York Road Runners’ premier event, Fitbit is offering unique opportunities during race week. At the race expo, runners will be able to demo Fitbit activity trackers and receive tips and instruction on the best ways to utilize the Fitbit platform for their marathon.
Fitbit will also host shakeout runs led by its brand ambassador team of professional athletes including Ryan Hall as well as his wife Sara Hall, a premier distance runner who is running the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon, and ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes.
The events let runners connect with each other, get inspired, and have some fun before race day. The runs will take place leading up to the race with specific details available soon on Fitbit’s website.
Fitbit notes that it helps people lead healthier, more active lives by empowering them with data, inspiration and guidance to reach their goals. ‘As the leader in the connected health and fitness category, Fitbit designs products and experiences that track everyday health and fitness.’
Fitbit’s diverse line of award-winning products includes Fitbit Surge, Fitbit Blaze, Fitbit Charge HR, Alta, Fitbit Charge, Fitbit Flex, Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip activity trackers, as well as the Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale.
Fitbit products are carried in 54,000 retail stores and in 64 countries around the globe. Fitbit Group Health uses the power of the Fitbit activity trackers, software and services to deliver innovative solutions for corporate wellness, weight management, insurance and clinical research.
The TCS New York City Marathon is the premier event of New York Road Runners (NYRR) and the largest marathon in the world. Over 1,000,000 people have finished the race since its first running in 1970 with then just 127 entrants and 55 finishers running four laps around Central Park.
The race expanded to all five boroughs in 1976 and is now in its 40th year as a five-borough affair. Held annually on the first Sunday of November, the race features 50,000 runners including the world’s top professional athletes and a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners.
Participants from over 125 countries tour the city, starting on Staten Island at the foot of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and running through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx before ending in Manhattan. In 2015, the inaugural NYRR Youth Invitational at the TCS New York City Marathon gave young runners the opportunity to run 1.8 miles of the race course in Central Park, beginning near mile 24 and finishing at the famed TCS New York City Marathon finish line.
More than one million spectators and thousands of volunteers line the city streets in support of the runners, while millions more watch the live television broadcast in the New York area on WABC-TV, Channel 7, nationally on ESPN2, and via various international broadcast partners around the world.
The race is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, which features the world’s top marathons—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York—and crowns the top professional male and female marathoners each year.
www.fitbit.com
www.tcsnycmarathon.org
