Million Expected For ‘Human Race’

A 24-year-old New York City public school teacher, Holli Simon, said she had long considered running too strenuous to be anything but a chore. In the past two months, having willed herself to join a local running club for exercise and camaraderie, Ms. Simon has had quite a change of heart: Later this month, she will attempt to complete a 10-kilometer, or 6.2-mile, race in less than an hour.“It has completely changed me into an athlete, and given me a lot of confidence in my abilities,” she said of her new hobby.Ms. Simon is one of about 1 million people expected to take part in the Nike+ Human Race, billed as the world’s largest one-day running competition. The event comprises formal 10-kilometer runs in 25 cities on four continents, among other affiliated races.“With the Olympics taking place this summer, we wanted to give everyday athletes a chance to participate in a global event,” a spokeswoman for Nike, Jacie Prieto, said.The Olympic Games begin in Beijing on Friday, and run through Sunday, August 24. The Human Race will be held on Sunday, August 31 in Istanbul, Turkey; São Paulo, Brazil; Taipei, Taiwan, and elsewhere.Here in New York, the Human Race is expected to bring about 10,000 runners to the course at Randalls Island. The finish line abuts Icahn Stadium, where a free concert featuring the rock band the All-American Rejects will follow the race.Runners the world over who do not live in or near one of the designated race sites can also compete if they have a pair of Nike+ running shoes and a SportBand — technology that works together to track a runner’s distance and pace. Information recorded by the SportBand can be synced to a personal computer and uploaded at NikePlus.com. Though a variety of pre-race training regimens can be created free of charge at that Web site, the shoes and SportBand may be cost-prohibitive for some, starting at $95 and $59, respectively.The race fee is $35, and a portion of that money will be donated to charity. Registrants can choose whether they want proceeds from their fee to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the United Nations Refugee Agency, or the World Wildlife Fund. The three organizations were selected by Nike to receive event-related donations totaling at least $3 million, Ms. Prieto said.The 10-kilometer distance is ideal for an event of this scale because it can serve as a challenge for recreational joggers and elite runners alike, a New York-based running coach with Nike, Jonathan Cane, said. “It attracts a diverse group of athletes to the same course, at the same time, on the same day,” Mr. Cane, who leads Human Race training runs in Central Park, said. “There will be people taking walking breaks, and there will be world-class athletes running sub-five-minute miles.”During the training runs, which can attract several hundred people a day, participants are divided into groups according to the distance they plan to run. Nike staffers, wearing shirts labeled “pacer,” spread out the crowd. “For beginners, we emphasize mileage buildup; for more experienced runners, it’s about getting them to go a little faster,” Mr. Cane said, noting that recreational runners should spend about four weeks training for the event.He said he is often approached by new runners who want to train for a marathon, but that is not a realistic goal for everyone. “They want to go from zero to 26.2 miles,” he said. “I tell people that a 10k is a typical building block for someone who wants to go from a treadmill-type runner to a goal-oriented runner.”A number of reasons are drawing New Yorkers to the Human Race. A 28-year-old retail planner, Jean Sih, said she was attracted to its philanthropic component and figured the race, her first 10k, would also be a good way to “shake up” her cycling-heavy workout routine. Meanwhile, 27-year-old Arwind Varadhan, who works for a credit card company, said he entered the Human Race to beat his fastest 10k race time of about 50 minutes, adding: “It’s thrilling to be part of a race with a million people in it.”Nike-sponsored, free training runs are offered Monday-Thursday, Saturday in Manhattan, and Saturday in Brooklyn. For training times and information about the SportBand, visit nikeplus.com, where race registration information is also available.

Million Expected For ‘Human Race’

Million Expected For ‘Human Race’

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