The conference on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the “Warsaw Marathon” Foundation, the organizer of the largest street races in Poland, was an opportunity to announce excellent news! The most prestigious races in the Polish capital in 2023 will take place as the 17th Nationale-Nederlanden Warsaw Half Marathon and the 45th Nationale-Nederlanden Warsaw Marathon. The announcement of the new title sponsor, the Nationale-Nederlanden brand, is another step in the development of the “Warsaw Marathon” Foundation.
“Warsaw Marathon” Foundation’s 20th Anniversary
For twenty years of activity and continuous development, “Warsaw Marathon” has not slowed down even for a moment. In the past year, the Warsaw Foundation has implemented, in addition to its flagship events – the Warsaw Half Marathon and Marathon, the EKIDEN Relay Marathon and accompanying runs: New Balance Five Run and Pekao S.A Warsaw Dycha, as well as much appreciated Warsaw Triad Running Races “Strive for Memory” (Constitution Day Run, Warsaw Uprising Run, and Independence Run). The popular Warsaw runs from this cycle were organized by the Foundation together with Active Warsaw after a two-year break!
The Warsaw Marathon Foundation was operating even during the pandemic. In 2020, the unique 42nd edition of the Warsaw Marathon was organized and maintained at the highest sanitary standard. This event was then one of the few marathon races in the world.
The largest half marathon in Poland will start on March 26 under the name of the 17th Nationale-Nederlanden Warsaw Half Marathon. The start list already includes more than 8,000 names! The capital’s event organizer and Nationale-Nederlanden announce joining forces and strengthening of the Warsaw Marathon Foundation’s activities.
“It is delightful to find ourselves on a common path with someone with whom we share our values. Our partnership with Nationale-Nederlanden is evidence of their trust and recognition of the importance of our events. I find it particularly significant that at a time when the entire running world is recovering from the difficult period initiated by the pandemic, we are taking another step forward. After 20 years of promoting sports and a healthy lifestyle through our foundation, I know that we have much more to say”, said Marek Tronina, President of the “Marathon Warsaw” Foundation, during the conference.
Perfect match
For 20 years, the Foundation has been a promoter of healthy lifestyles, preventive examinations and regular sports practice, and thus cares for the physical and mental health of Poles. The goals and priorities of the “Warsaw Marathon” Foundation are very close to those of Nationale-Nederlanden. Sport, and specifically running, is one of the pillars of health prevention that the new partner of the Foundation focuses on alongside preventive examinations and financial security in the wake of unforeseen events. Among sports initiatives, it is worth mentioning one of the longest running sponsorships – in the 2015/2016 season, the insurer became the title sponsor of the largest cross-country running series in Poland – CITY TRAIL, which are aimed at both adults and children.
The new sponsor of the “Warsaw Marathon” supports the running industry both locally and globally. The NN Group, represented in Poland by Nationale-Nederlanden, also has a long history of supporting running and social initiatives. Globally, NN Group co-leads the professional NN Running Team. The team consists of the greatest stars of long-distance running. The brand not only engages in running campaigns externally, but also boasts an internal running group that regularly trains and competes with each other.
“We share similar values and goals with the Warsaw Marathon Foundation – such as promoting physical activity as a way to take care of both physical and mental health. We would like to not only encourage Poles to incorporate daily physical activity, adopt healthier dietary habits, and undergo regular check-ups, but also provide them with the appropriate products and tools to do so. Participating in the Half Marathon and Warsaw Marathon events can certainly be one of these motivators,” said Andrzej Miron, member of the Nationale-Nederlanden technology management board and runner. “We aim to inspire Poles to think about their health in a long-term perspective and to simply inject self-care as a permanent part of their lifestyle. Because taking care of your health is a marathon, not a sprint. Thus, the slogan of our campaign is #długodystanZDROWI [#longdistanceHealthy], and as part of our commitment we will undertake a number of activities, including the creation of a special zone in the runner’s town, where people supporting participants will be able to perform basic examinations and confirm their health status,” he added.
#IRunWell, and together we run even better!
Both FWM and Nationale-Nederlanden have been involved in and committed to supporting charitable causes for years. Not surprisingly, the new title sponsor decided to get involved in the #BiegamDobrze [#IRunWell] charity campaign – the largest running charity initiative. It allows runners who sign up for the run to choose one of 9 charitable organizations and set up their own fundraising – a virtual piggy bank. Participants encourage their close ones to make donations towards a cause that is important to them and together they fill up their piggy bank. After reaching the set targets – minimum amounts – they receive a starting package for the run along with a unique, orange starting number. Nationale-Nederlanden has decided to honor the efforts of those involved in the #IRunWell fundraisers and financially support the largest causes.
“Social engagement is one of the key areas of our activity. By participating in this important initiative of the Warsaw Marathon Foundation, we aim to raise awareness of the importance of activity and prevention in everyday life, but also to provide real help and active support to organizations that help many Poles on a daily basis to improve the quality of their lives and support their health, both physical and mental. This mission is part of our social engagement strategy. Therefore, we decided to take it one step further and recognize the efforts of those who joined the #IRunWell program and collected the largest amounts. As Nationale-Nederlanden, we will add additional sums to the leaders’ collections, which the person will be able to donate to the foundation of their choice. We believe that together we can do more,” explained Marta Pokutycka-Mądrala, spokeswoman and director of corporate communications at Nationale-Nederlanden.
“The #BiegamDobrze campaign is an outstanding work of many good people. Over 7 years, participants have raised more than 7 million zlotys, supporting several social organizations in implementing their projects. I’m thrilled that the charitable part of our activity not only attracts an increasing number of runners, but also becomes an important motive for the brands collaborating with us. With this year’s cooperation with Nationale-Nederlanden, the scale of support that charitable organizations will receive will be even greater. This is a prime example of cooperation between the third sector, business and participants in our runs. In a righteous cause run is lighter – this is the main slogan of #IRunWell, and I am sure it will be valid for many years to come”, says Magda Skrocka, communications director of the Warsaw Marathon Foundation.
