USATF lifts up fitness with new partner National Black Marathoners Association

ATLANTA - Sept. 14, 2016 - PRLog -- USA Track & Field announced a new partnership with the National Black Marathoners Association (NBMA) to support health and wellness programs across the country. The one-year commitment provides grants to assist the NBMA in developing a training program targeting African-American faith-based communities, as well as contributing directly to NBMA's college scholarship program.

The NBMA is the nation's largest and oldest non-profit dedicated to African-American distance runners. The organization encourages wellness through long distance athletics and offers scholarships to high school athletes.

"Developing a healthy lifestyle extends far beyond the track and USATF is committed to providing accessible fitness opportunities," said USATF CEO Max Siegel. "We're proud to partner with NBMA to bring a new focus on physical wellness to churches in the African-American community."

Running programs will be tailored to meet the needs of each community starting with Dallas, Atlanta, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. More cities will be announced later this fall.

"The church is the perfect 'accountability partner' for individuals who want to improve their health. These institutions are able to educate, train and sustain fitness programs for their members and neighborhood through their weekly services," said NBMA Co-Founder and Board Member Tony Reed. "We're looking forward to this relationship with USATF and together empowering underserved communities."

USATF will also provide funding for college scholarships to NBMA members who show extraordinary dedication to continuing their education. Application details will be available at a later date.

In addition to faith-based institutions, programs will be open to local recreation centers and community groups. For more information, visit www.blackmarathoners.org.

About USATF

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the country's No. 1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. For more information on USATF, visit http://www.usatf.org.

About NBMA

The National Black Marathoners' Association (NBMA) is the largest nonprofit organization in the U.S. dedicated to encouraging Black Americans and others to pursue a healthy lifestyle through distance running and walking. It is open to everyone, regardless of his or her athletic ability or previous marathon experience. The NBMA hosts an annual multi-race summit. Previous races and locations have been Lewis & Clark (St. Charles, MO), New Jersey (Long Branch, NJ), Cleveland (OH), Lost Dutchman (Apache Junction, AZ), Cowtown (Fort Worth, TX), Georgia (Atlanta), Bermuda International Race Weekend, Deadwood-Michelson (Deadwood, SD), Madison (WI), Richmond (VA), Windermere (Spokane, WA) and Dallas Marathons. For more information, visit www.blackmarathoners.org.