Team Active Elite Member to Run for Troops

Orlando woman plans to run 21 marathons in nine months to raise funds for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) and Operation USO Care Package.

ORLANDO, FL (PRWEB) August 4, 2004 --- Orlando runner Shirley Pratt of Team Active Elite plans to run 21 full marathons in nine months to honor and support U.S. armed forces involved in the global war on terrorism. Her 21 Run Salute campaign will span 20 different states and Washington D.C., and raise money for two charities, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) and the Operation USO Care Package. Pratt will begin running marathons every one to two weeks starting in September, 2004, until Memorial Day weekend, 2005.

Pratt, 42, is a long-time runner who began running marathons only last year but has already run 12 marathons and won several awards. She is a certified group fitness instructor, running coach, and second degree Black Belt martial artist. Early in 2004, she was selected from thousands of amateur athletes to be a member of Team Active Elite, a sponsored athlete program, for her past road racing achievements and leadership abilities. Team Active Elite, sponsored by Egg Beaters®, Road ID and Active.com, provides Pratt with branded apparel to wear, new products to improve athletic performance, and incentives for promoting them.

Running 21 marathons in nine months will be a challenge, but our troops and their families are the ones enduring incredible hardships and making real sacrifices on our behalf," says Pratt. Each race is dedicated to service members from the state or area of the country where the race is being held. Im happy to accept contributions of any size knowing that thousands of small contributions can accomplish a lot for our troops and their families, as well as larger corporate donations. And if anyone else would like to run for our troops, Ive come up with a way they can do that as well."

Having found no major charity teams running for the troops, Pratt has organized this effort on her own and is also forming virtual running teams who together will run 21 races (any distance) to complete their own 21 Run Salute. Funds raised by the 21 Run Salute campaign will help families of service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country and raise the morale of troops who are in harms way now. For more information or to donate, visit www.21RunSalute.org.

About Team Active Elite
Team Active Elite, presented by official sponsors Egg Beaters®, Road ID and Active.com, is a sponsored athlete program developed and managed by Active Marketing Group. Active Marketing Group, the innovative marketing services division of The Active Network, Inc., helps team sponsors get their brands in front of millions of active consumers across the country through peer-to-peer marketing by amateur endurance athletes. Team Active Elite sponsors include Egg Beaters (www.eggbeaters.com), the leading egg alternative by ConAgra Foods with all the protein of whole eggs but less than half the calories and less fat and cholesterol; Road ID (www.roadid.com), the premier line of identification for active people; and Active.com (www.active.com), one of the Webs best resources to find, learn about, and register for participatory sports events and recreational activities. For more information, visit http://www.active.activeelite.com/ or http://active.com/community/activeathletes/

Media Contact:
Shirley Pratt
Marathoner / Principal Fundraiser
(321) 279-3310
smp@21RunSalute.org
http://www.21RunSalute.org

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