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NYRR Team for Kids Ambassador Meb Keflezighi to Pick ‘Meb’s Final Marathoner’ as Last Chance Entrant to Run 2017 TCS New York City Marathon

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BYNYRR Staff
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New York, March 3, 2017—The 2017 TCS New York City Marathon will be the 26th and final marathon of NYRR Team for Kids Ambassador Meb Keflezighi’s professional career, and in honor of that, after the event’s official drawing is completed the four-time Olympian will select the race’s final participant as “Meb’s Final Marathoner.”

To commemorate his 26th and final marathon, for a 26-hour period from 12:00 p.m. on March 6 to 2:00 p.m. on March 7, runners who were not accepted into the TCS New York City Marathon drawing can apply to be “Meb’s Final Marathoner” by submitting the reason they want to run the race. Runners can submit their reason for running via a link that will be provided on March 6 via the TCS New York City Marathon social media accounts. The contest winner – to be announced on March 16 by Keflezighi – will receive a complimentary race entry to the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon, in addition to two $500 United Airlines vouchers, and will have the chance to meet Keflezighi in-person prior to race day.

“I’m both excited and sad to be ending my professional marathon career at the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon,” Keflezighi said. “Toeing the start line on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a thrill I have looked forward to every year for the last 15 years. I’m honored to be able to pick the final marathoner selected to run the streets of New York City with me and 50,000 others on November 5. Whether you're an experienced marathoner or a first-time marathoner, there is nothing like running down the streets of New York City with millions of people cheering you on.”

Keflezighi, 41, of San Diego, CA, won a silver medal in the Athens 2004 Olympic Marathon, was the first American in 27 years to win the New York City Marathon in 2009, and five years later he was victorious at the Boston Marathon. Last November, he joined four other members of the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team as a Grand Marshal of the TCS New York City Marathon Team.

Approximately 50,000 runners are expected to finish the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon. The race, which is the premier event of New York Road Runners, will take place on Sunday, November 5.