NFL Fans Run To Daylight: 2012 Season Kicks Off With Inaugural Back To Football Run

2012 Kickoff Week Begins with Run in Central Park on Thursday, August 30 at 7:30 PM

Youngest fans and families may join the NFL PLAY 60 Fun Run at 6:00 PM

Fans May Register for the Run on nyrr.org through August 26

The NFL is teaming up with New York Road Runners to kick off the 2012 NFL season with the inaugural NFL Back to Football Run on Thursday, August 30 in New York City.  Before the Dallas Cowboys and Super Bowl XLVI Champion New York Giants run through the tunnels at MetLife Stadium on September 5, fans will have the opportunity to run through New York City’s iconic Central Park to help celebrate the start of the season.   

The 4-mile run through Central Park kicks off at 7:30 PM and is open to both casual and avid runners. Before and after the run, participants will have the chance to win NFL-themed prizes and meet former NFL players. 

Prior to the main run, young fans and their families can participate in the NFL PLAY 60 Fun Run which begins at 6:00 PM.  The run will give the youngest runners a chance to celebrate the return of the season while also getting up and active as part of the NFL’s PLAY 60 campaign. 

Fans may register for the run on the NYRR website (www.nyrr.org) through August 26.  There is an entry fee of $35 for the Back to Football Run and a $5 entry for the NFL PLAY 60 Fun Run.  All race participants also will receive a Nike Legend Dri-FIT® T-shirt.

The 2012 NFL Back to Football Run kicks off 2012 Kickoff Week.  The celebration continues on Wednesday, September 5 with festivities leading into the opening game between the Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ (Wednesday, September 5, 8:30 PM ET, NBC).

About Back to Football

The Back to Football campaign is the hopeful and anticipatory thematic that binds together the period from the opening of Training Camps straight through to the start of the NFL season, bringing together the nation in celebration of the return of football and, over time, making it the dominant cultural theme of August and September. The Back to Football theme will be prominent across all NFL channels including broadcast media, digital media, social media, print media and retail, at both League- and Club-levels with messaging to schools, League and Club partners and the entire NFL fan base.

About NYRR

New York Road Runners was founded in 1958 when a small group of passionate runners vowed to bring running to the people. Over the past 54 years, NYRR has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization. NYRR’s mission is to empower everyone, of all ages and abilities—beginners and competitive athletes, the young and the elderly, adult professionals and underserved schoolchildren—to improve their health and well-being through the power of running and fitness.

NYRR’s races, community events, instruction and training resources, and youth programs give hundreds of thousands of people each year the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to start running and keep running for life. NYRR’s premier event, the famed ING New York City Marathon, attracts the world’s top pro runners and committed amateurs alike while also raising millions of dollars annually for charity and driving economic impact for the City. But NYRR is equally committed to the runners of tomorrow, passionately providing youth fitness programs that educate and inspire more than 100,000 kids in underserved communities in New York City, all 50 states, and around the world.

Headquartered in New York City, NYRR implements a unique nonprofit model that teams contributed and earned income to make all its efforts possible. To learn more, please visit www.nyrr.org.

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Media Contact: Joanna Hunter, NFL, 212/450-2449; joanna.hunter@nfl.com; @joannanfl