byLarry Eder
The Adrian Martinez Meet, photo by Kevin Morris
The Adrian Martinez Classic to Add Unified Track Events in 2016
Concord, MA, USA
The Adrian Martinez Classic is proud to announce the inclusion of two Unified track races at this year’s event, scheduled for Thursday June 2nd at Emerson Field in Concord, Massachusetts. Unified Track, part of the burgeoning Unified Sport movement, which seeks to promote “social inclusion through sports,” according to Special Olympics International. For the Adrian Martinez Classic, which already brings together elite High Performance athletes with community milers from ages 5-75, Unified Track is yet another way to fulfill its mission of providing races for all ages and abilities.
Unified Sport grew out of the Special Olympics mission to provide athletic opportunities for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, to “transform lives through the joy of sport.” Unified teams, as the name suggests, bring together athletes with intellectual disabilities and athletes without disabilities to compete on the same teams in the same events. All athletes reap the same benefits: increased fitness, greater confidence, discovery of new strengths, development of new skills, and the building of strong team friendships.
In Massachusetts, Unified Track has grown remarkably in the past five years and is now an officially sanctioned sport by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, in partnership with Special Olympics Massachusetts. Unified Track and Field meets are co-ed and athletes contest a variety of events, including the shot put, long jump, javelin, 100m, 400m, 800m, and two relays, the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m. Teams are comprised of at least 50% athletes with intellectual disabilities and at least 33% athletes without intellectual disabilities, with the ideal being teams made up of 50% each. The MIAA Unified Track & Field Championship meet was held May 24th and featured over 200 athletes from 31 teams around the state. The two sectional qualifying meets, held the week prior, each attracted over 300 athletes.
The Adrian Martinez Classic will feature two different 400m Unified races, in which 3 Unified athletes and 3 partners will compete. The Unified athletes have been selected from the top finishers at the MIAA Unified State Championships to represent their schools in what will be the final Unified competition of the Spring season.
Founder and Meet Director Steve Lane stated, “One of the primary goals of the Adrian Martinez Classic has always been to bring together the entire running community. The tremendous growth of Unified Track in Massachusetts is a strong argument for including Unified events in a wide variety of meets and Unified Track is certainly a natural fit for our Meet already seen as, “A track meet like no other”.”
An evening at the track at Emerson Playground, that is part competition, part celebration, will become all the more joyous in 2016, with Unified athletes joining the fun.
For More Information – see over
1
For more information about the Adrian Martinez Classic, contact:
Stephen Lane, Meet Director, Adrian Martinez Classic
Email: stevelane6@gmail.com Phone: 617-306-4650 (USA – Eastern Time)
For more information about Unified Sport, contact:
Special Olympics Massachusetts https://www.specialolympicsma.org
About the Adrian Martinez Classic
The Adrian Martinez Classic began in 2009 as a tribute to a great runner and wonderful young man, Adrian Martinez. Adrian was a champion miler at Concord-Carlisle High School, Class of 2002. His humility, gentle and caring nature, and love of learning inspired the lives of all he met. He selflessly gave of himself to all who sought his help, whether academically as a gifted math student, or athletically as an accomplished distance runner.
The summer after he graduated from Williams College, Adrian Martinez suffered a fatal ‘sudden cardiac arrest’ while playing soccer with friends. He cherished his friends and family and was loved universally. He led quietly and by example, both at CCHS and at Williams College, where he graduated with the Class of 2006. The Adrian Martinez Classic is a way to honor his life by doing something he truly loved: running with friends.
The Adrian Martinez Classic serves as a fundraiser for the Adrian Martinez Memorial Scholarship Fund at Concord-Carlisle High School (which is administered by the CCHS Scholarship Fund), and for the Friends of CCHS Track & Field, which supports the Track & Field teams at CCHS. Adrian’s parents, Angel and Frankie, his brothers Lucas and Julian, and his sister, Olivia, have established the Adrian A. Martinez Memorial Scholarship Fund to commemorate his passion for distance running and his devotion to learning. It is their sincere hope that his kindness, humility, giving nature, sense of purpose and commitment and inspirational leadership will be reflected in all recipients of this annual award.
For more information on the Adrian Martinez Scholarship Fund:
The Adrian A. Martinez Memorial Scholarship Fund has been established by Adrian’s family to honor the life of Adrian Martinez, CCHS Class of 2002. http://ccscholarshipfund.org/site/mobile?url=http%3A%2F%2Fccscholarshipfund.org%2FNamed_ Funds.html#2875
The Presenting Sponsor of the Adrian Martinez Classic is HOKA ONE ONE
About the HOKA ONE ONE® brand
HOKA ONE ONE® is the fastest growing, premium running shoe brand in the world. Two life-long runners launched HOKA in 2009, after years spent handcrafting and shaping lightweight shoes with extra-thick midsoles. Initially embraced by ultrarunners because of their enhanced cushioning and inherent stability, HOKA now offers shoes for all types of athletes who enjoy the unique ride the shoes provide. For more information visit www.hokaoneone.com or follow @hokaoneone #hokaoneone.
About Deckers Brands
Deckers Brands is a global leader in designing, marketing and distributing innovative footwear, apparel and accessories developed for both everyday casual lifestyle use and high performance activities. The Company’s portfolio of brands includes UGG®, Teva®, Sanuk®, Ahnu®, and HOKA ONE ONE®. Deckers Brands products are sold in more than 50 countries and territories through select department and specialty stores, 138 Company-owned and operated retail stores, and select online stores, including Company-owned websites. Deckers Brands has a 40-year history of building niche footwear brands into lifestyle market leaders attracting millions of loyal consumers globally. For more information, please visit www.deckers.com
