(4-16-08) From Press Release - World Championship Sports Network (WCSN), the premier destination of Olympic and lifestyle sports, announced today it is joining forces with adidas and MarathonGuide.com to provide a free, first-ever global webcast of the 112th Boston Marathon. Through this partnership, fans worldwide can logon to WCSN.com to watch the live and on-demand webcast on April 21, beginning at 9:25 a.m. EST.
"We're excited to partner with adidas and MarathonGuide.com in offering this free webcast and to help foster worldwide awareness for this major race," said Carlos Silva, president and COO of WCSN. "Now, for the first time global road racing fans will have unprecedented coverage to see the top marathoners square off in one of the world's most prestigious sporting events."
On WCSN.com, running fans can also access Marathon Madness, a special editorial package that features original content, articles from road racing experts, interactive maps, results, highlights and more. Furthermore, WCSN.com will be offering special commentary from running legend and four-time Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers.
"Adidas is proud to join WCSN.com in providing a free internet broadcast of the 112th Boston Marathon," said Spencer Nel, head of global sports marketing for running and track and field at adidas. "As a Boston Marathon sponsor, adidas is especially pleased to help bring the oldest continuing annual marathon in the world to as many viewers as possible in every corner of the world. With its proven track record WCSN.com is the ideal partner to make that happen."
"Since 2000, MarathonGuide.com's mission has been to promote the sport by providing comprehensive coverage of and information about marathons and distance running. As part of that mission, we are proud to work with WCSN.com and adidas to ensure that the Boston Marathon broadcast will be available at no cost and can be enjoyed by as many marathon enthusiasts as possible," said John Elliott, founder and president of MarathonGuide.com.
Deemed one of the world's most prestigious and oldest annual road racing events, the Boston Marathon is the second stop on the World Marathon Majors, a marathon series offering a $1 million prize purse to be split between the leading male and female marathoners in the world.
WCSN.com is the home of the 2008 World Marathon Majors with complete coverage of the London, Boston, Berlin, Chicago and New York City races. Marathon fans around the globe can catch the action on www.wcsn.com where they can be part of the more than 500,000 spectators anticipated to be cheering on the runners as they dash through the streets of rural Hopkinton to the beautiful Boston Back Bay finish line at Copley Square. Fans will also have access to complete live and on-demand video footage plus free access to news, race results, photo galleries, behind-the-scenes features and more.