FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run Awarded Silver Certification By
Council For Responsible Sport
Efforts to Reduce Environmental Impacts and Increase Social Benefits of
the Runners Rite of Spring® Help Nation's Capital
Put it's Best Foot Forward.
March 19, 2014, Washington, DC: In a joint announcement today, organizers
of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run and the Council for
Responsible Sport celebrated the race's second silver certification for its
socially and environmentally responsible event production practices at the
2013 event. The Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run first earned silver
certification from the Council in 2011. Certification takes place every two
years.
"In the fall of 2009, the race committee made a formal commitment to take a
year-by-year approach to producing a more environmentally and socially
responsible event," said Phil Stewart, Event Director of the Credit Union
Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run, "and I am very proud of the progress we have
made.
There is much more we can do, however, and for this year's event we've
enlarged our green team from one volunteer champion to a group of five
volunteers; they've got gold certification from the Council in their
sights."
Keith Peters, Executive Director of the Council for Responsible Sport,
added: "It has been great to see the Credit Union Cherry Blossom team take
on bigger and broader challenges every year. One example that benefits the
public at large, and not just race participants, is the focus put on
reducing and mitigating the carbon footprint associated with participants'
travel to the race. Organizers work with Metro to open stations at 5 am on
race day, and encourage those who cannot take advantage of Metro to use
bike valet parking or consider purchasing carbon offsets. The net effect is
far fewer cars looking for parking downtown during a very busy tourist
season."
This year's event will serve as the 2014 USA 10 Mile Championships for both
men and women, presented by America's Credit Unions. Scheduled for Sunday,
April 6, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run is always a highlight
of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which is scheduled to run between
March 20 and April 13.
Over 26,000 runners submitted applications to participate in the 2014
Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile and 5K Run-Walk, and the list of
accepted runners represents all 50 states and 14 foreign countries. With a
field limit of 15,000 established by the National Park Service and selected
by lottery in December, not everyone who hoped to run will be able to
participate in this year's "Runners Rite of Spring®".
Since 2002, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile and 5K Run-Walk have
raised over $6 million for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, and a
significant portion of that sum has been raised by Charity Race entrants.
About the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile:
The Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run is known as "The Runner's Rite
of Spring®," and is the only truly elite road race in our Nation's
capital. The staging area for the event is on the Washington Monument
Grounds and the course passes in sight of all of the major Washington, DC
Memorials. The event serves as a fundraiser for the Children's Miracle
Network Hospitals, a consortium of 170 premier children's hospitals across
the United States. About one-third of the funds raised support Washington,
DC's own Children's National Medical Center ("Children's Hospital"). The
event also funds two $5,000 Road Runners Club of America "Roads Scholar"
grants designed to support up-and-coming U.S. distance running talent.
The Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run is a proud member of the
Professional Road Running Organization (PRRO) Circuit. PRRO is an alliance
of race directors who together organize the PRRO Circuit, a nationwide
series of premier non-marathon road racing events. The PRRO Circuit races
share a common commitment for a drug-free sport. All the circuit events pay
for elite athlete drug testing in partnership with the United States
Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).Circuit events include the World's Best 10K in
San Juan, PR, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, the Lilac Bloomsday
12K in Spokane, WA, the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY, and the AJC Peachtree
Road Race in Atlanta, GA. A trip to the PRRO Race of Champions at the 2014
AJC Peachtree Road Race on July 4, 2014 will be awarded to the first local
man and woman.
Credit Union Miracle Day, Inc., a consortium of credit unions and credit
union suppliers, is the title sponsor of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10
Mile Run and 5K Run-Walk. PSCU is the lead financial partner of Credit
Union Miracle Day, Inc. Supporting sponsors include New Balance, Gatorade,
Navy Federal Credit Union, Larabar, Potomac River Running and BAE Systems.
Complete information about the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run and
5K Run-Walk can be found at: http://www.cherryblossom.org
About America's Credit Unions:
Credit unions provide consumers choices for financial services such as
checking accounts, investments and loans of all kinds including mortgages.
Funds are federally insured, but unlike banks, there are no stockholders at
credit unions. Earnings are returned to member-owners in the form of lower
loan rates, higher savings rates, low or no-fee products and services. The
credit union philosophy of placing members' needs first is why more than
98.9 million Americans do their banking at one of America's 6,800 credit
unions. Credit unions are for everyone-no matter where you live, there is a
credit union to meet your needs.
To find a credit union near you visit: www.asmarterchoice.org or
www.culookup.comg
About the Council for Responsible Sport:
Our vision is a world where responsibly produced sports events are the
norm. Our mission is to provide objective, independent verification of the
socially and environmentally responsible work event organizers are doing,
and to actively support event organizers who strive to make a difference in
their communities.
Our Certification program provides a comprehensive method for event
directors to incorporate environmental and socially responsible initiatives
into their events, while informing stakeholders about events that adhere to
a rigorous set of standards. Certified events range in size from
ParalympicsGB Training Camps held at the University of Bath in the UK, with
some 150 athletes participating, to the AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta,
Georgia, with 55,077 timed finishers. To date, 76 different events have
achieved certification from the Council for Responsible Sport, serving over
875,000 athletes in the process.
The Council's current certification standards (v4.1) were finalized after a
period of stakeholder review in the fall of 2013, and were implemented in
January 2014. Certification is modeled after the U.S. Green Building
Council's LEED Green Building Rating System, which certifies buildings and
materials according to resource conservation and energy efficiency
criteria.
www.CouncilforResponsibleSport.org
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