Ottawa Race Weekend and ING Canada reach the finish line of a successful partnership

Ottawa, ON – The 2008 edition of the ING Ottawa Marathon to be held on May 25th will mark the end of a five-year partnership between ING and the Ottawa Race Weekend (ORW), one of the most successful affiliations in the history of the 34-year-old event. Having grown significantly and reached the goals set five years ago, event organizers are looking forward to continuing this trend with a new title sponsor for 2009.

"The support of ING has allowed our race to prosper and grow into a world-class running event. In the past five years alone, this weekend has grown from just over 20,000 to over 30,000 participants with three new course records for the ING Ottawa Marathon in that time," said Susan Longbottom, Ottawa Race Weekend president. "As an organization, we couldn't have been happier with our association with ING and now look forward to our next partners."

"The partnership between ING and the Ottawa Marathon has been one of our most successful and rewarding sponsorship experiences," said Jay Donnelly, Vice President Marketing at ING Insurance. "The Ottawa Marathon has brought tremendous brand recognition for ING, while allowing us to support Canada's premier running event and promote a healthy lifestyle to all Canadians. Thanks to the incredible support of our employees and brokers, who embraced the events, the race organizers and the running community, we achieved everything we hoped it would; and then some. While ING is stepping down as the title sponsor, we are confident that the Ottawa Race Weekend will build upon the international reputation it has gained over the last five years."

Marathon organizers are also looking forward to a new stage of the marathon's growth with a new sponsor for 2009. "As Canada's largest running festival we're excited to move into a new and bold future with a new title sponsor for the marathon, half marathon and family 2k events," said Longbottom. "With 2009 comes our 35th anniversary and an exciting new era for the Ottawa Marathon. We have already begun the search for a new partner to join us for this amazing milestone."

The 2008 ING Ottawa Marathon will be held on Sunday May 25th.

For more information contact:

Anick Losier
Promotions Director
alosier@runottawa.ca

Gilles Gratton
Vice President Corporate Communications
Gilles.gratton@ingcanada.com