California-born retail giant Big 5 Sporting Goods sponsors Honda LA Marathon

For more than half a century, Big 5 Sporting Goods has outfitted sports enthusiasts in Los Angeles and beyond. Now the retailer is aligning itself with another local classic: the Honda LA Marathon Presented by K-Swiss.

"We like the direction the race has taken over the last two years”, said Rick Gridley, Big 5 Sporting Goods Public Affairs Director. "Introducing the scenic Stadium to the Sea course and infusing fun into the time-honored commitment to fitness is a hit with Los Angeles-area runners".

Big 5 will be the race’s Official Sporting Goods Retailer and the title sponsor of the popular 5K race held on the day before the Marathon itself. The 2011 LA Big 5K will be held at 8 am on March 19th on a loop course beginning and ending close to the massive Honda LA Marathon Expo at Dodger Stadium, with more than 4,000 runners expected to participate.

In addition, Big 5 will have a featured presence at the Expo itself on March 18th-19th, on the Stadium to the Sea course via prominent signage and in Santa Monica at the Finish Line Festival. Co-promotions between the organizers and Big 5 are now in development.

"We are excited to welcome Big 5 Sporting Goods into the Honda LA Marathon family", said Dave Klewan, LA MARATHON LLC Partnerships Director. "It's a great opportunity for us to partner with a brand with such a long-standing connection to Los Angeles. We look forward to many years of staging the LA Big 5K at Dodger Stadium together and elevating this event to be a signature part of the Honda LA Marathon".

Although it has grown to 396 stores in twelve Western states, Big 5 is – at its core – a California company, beginning with five stores in Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, Inglewood and San Jose in 1955. With more than 8,000 employees and nearly $900 million in sales during 2010, Big 5 is a sporting goods powerhouse that offers a wide range of quality, name-brand products at affordable prices, while delivering first-rate customer service.

"As a neighborhood sporting goods retailer, we're very proud of our close ties to our local communities, and this marathon is an event that has truly captivated people throughout the region", said Big 5 Vice President Pete Mulvaney. "We're looking forward to working with the Honda LA Marathon to become an even bigger part of the running community in Southern California and helping people reach their goals for fitness and value".

"With 600 employees working in Deer Park, Chicago is our hometown auto show and we're proud to support such a great showcase of the best in automotive design and technology", said Kieran O'Sullivan, executive vice president of Continental's global Infotainment & Connectivity Business Unit.

"Our company traces its local roots to the first commercially successful car radios, introduced by Motorola in the 1930s. Today, our teams are at the vanguard of multimedia, connectivity and telematics technology, and we are aggressively recruiting new software and hardware engineers to work in Deer Park on programs to make driving more enjoyable, safer and cleaner".

Continental, which acquired Motorola's automotive electronics business in 2006, launched RESCU, its first telematics product, in the 1996 Lincoln Continental, built by Ford Motor Company.

Today, Continental supplies key components for General Motors' OnStar system, Ford SYNC, and it is developing the Blue Link system with Hyundai Motor America.

All told, Continental has helped deliver more than twenty-two million connected vehicles worldwide, and it is developing several new advanced multimedia and telematics platforms that showcase the almost unlimited potential of in-vehicle electronics to improve the driving experience, including:

AutoLinQ™: What you need, where you need It

The Continental AutoLinQ™ Connected Services Platform is the world's first automotive-grade head unit capable of downloading Android applications. Continental has designed AutoLinQ working with some of the biggest names in the consumer electronics industry – Deutsche Telekom, INRIX, NAVIGON, NAVTEQ and Ygomi – to design Android-based applications for the system that enhance vehicle safety, performance and convenience.

"Enterprise Rent-A-Car is proud to be a sponsor of the Canada Games, an event that has enabled over 100,000 athletes to fulfil their dreams", said Andrew Feldman, vice president and general manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Halifax.

As the preferred car rental supplier of the Games, Enterprise Rent-A-Car will provide vehicles for host society members in addition to the rental cars used for visitors and friends and family of the athletes. As part of the Sapphire-level sponsorship, the company will receive recognition at the Games headquarters, in the Games' newsletter, on the Canada Games website and sponsor recognition boards throughout the event.

“Enterprise's sponsorship will help us deliver the Games. For twenty-one days, our motorpool will be supplemented with over a hundred Enterprise vehicles", said John Rogers, 2011 Games board member and marketing and sponsorship division chair. "Volunteer drivers will transport major officials, VIPs and medical staff to the multiple venues throughout HRM and beyond. Support from companies like Enterprise truly makes the Games possible".