Press-info prior to Sunday's inaugural Palestine Marathon

Press-info prior to Sunday's inaugural Palestine Marathon

Dear member of the press.
A Press conference will take place on Friday April 19th 2013 at Bethlehem Municipality – Vienna Hall at 10:00 am with Mayor Vera Baboun- Bethlehem Municipality , Signe Fischer from Right to Move and I’tidal Ismail from the Palestinain Olympic committee 
For more information on the press conference please contact Mr. Anton Balout 2741323 or 0598512298 and Mr. Zuhair Tmezi – Ministry of information -Mobile number 0599694013

You are receiving this email, since you have expressed interest in covering Palestine Marathon - either in Bethlehem or from abroad.

A HISTORIC RACE
The inaugural race is five days away, and we are super excited to welcome you and runners from around the world!

Organizing the race has been a rewarding and sometimes hectic process. We have been overwhelmed with the international interest and support, even though we’ve known all along that we are creating something special. 

Over the last couple of months we have experienced a growing interest in running in Palestine. More and more runners have joined our weekly training runs - and quite a few will run their first 5k or 10k on race day. Something that most of us take for granted, give Palestinians a renewed sense of freedom and identity.

All in all, Sunday is going to be a historic day. It will be the culmination of a lot of hard work, and a new lifestyle, for local runners in training, who will hopefully inspire many others to join in on the movement.

We can’t wait to host those of you travelling to Bethlehem on race day, and we will do all we can to accomodate you. And to those of you covering from abroad, we will do everything we can to provide you with insights to the race.

We have compiled some important information, that will help you get the most out of race day.

PRESS AREA
We are setting up a designated press tent in the start and finish area at the Church of the Nativity. The tent will be manned at all times and there is free wifi and desk space. 

The press area is open:
Friday April 19 12-6PM
Saturday April 20 12-6PM
Sunday April 21 6AM-6PM 

PRESS PASSES
We do not issue press passes, but we ask you to sign in at the press area, and get a press vest that will get you in to all areas at the marathon. Also, by signing in you get a press kit and access to the press conference.

PRESS KIT
On race day, you will receive a press kit, which includes:
o Fact sheet
o Access to images
o Map of race course with good photo spots
o T-shirt and bag
We will send fact sheet and access to selected images for those of you covering from abroad. 

PRESS CONFERENCE
Following the race, at 2PM we will have a press conference with race founders, Lærke Hein and Signe Fischer. Please sign-up in the press area prior to the press conference to get access.

SECURITY
A note on our security following the situation in Boston
We are deeply saddened by the news from Boston. It is a sad day for athletes all over the world. Our security plan for Palestine Marathon is in place and has been developed in close cooperation with police and authorities, whom we contacted immediately following the news, and we remain in close contact in the next days leading up to our race on Sunday.
As a big city sports event we take our athletes’ and spectators’ security very seriously. Palestinian police is handling road safety on race day. 

QUESTIONS?
If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us before, during and after the race.

Best Regards,

The Palestine Marathon organizers

Contact:

General press inquiries: Lise Ring lr@righttomovement.com
Palestinian media: Anton Balout – Bethlehem Municipality 0598512298

Race Founder, Signe Fischer sfs@righttomovement.com / +972 52 277 4701