Feb. 5: Two Hundred Race Empire State Stairwell for Multiple Myeloma

NORWALK, CT – (1/17/2014) – The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) has announced that it will once again have the prestigious honor of being an official charity partner of the Empire State Building Run-Up, which will be held on Wednesday, February 5, 2014. This year’s race will feature an expanded field of 200 MMRF charity runners who expect to raise more than $800,000 to benefit the urgent multiple myeloma research funded by the MMRF. In just four years as an official charity partner for this event, the MMRF will raise over $2.1 million toward innovative approaches to extend patients’ lives and accelerate finding cures.

The Empire State Building Run-Up is hosted by Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. and staged by New York Road Runners (NYRR), and is one of the organization’s most eccentric and challenging fitness events. In the race’s 37-year history, only 6,200 athletes have earned the bragging rights of reaching the finish line on the 86th-floor Observation Deck. On February 5, the 200 MMRF runners will climb the 1,576 steps up the Empire State Building, including five runners who are living with multiple myeloma. 

“MMRF athletes have raised more than $2 million through this event to help accelerate the development of new treatments in multiple myeloma,” said Alicia O’Neill, Director of Endurance Events at the MMRF. “We are proud to be part of this iconic event, which is so emblematic of the MMRF focus on speed and innovation.”

Adds Mary Wittenberg, NYRR President and CEO, “We are honored to partner with the MMRF as an official charity partner of the Empire State Building Run-Up for the fourth consecutive year.

“Their ability to harness hope and speed is evident in their fundraising efforts. With a team of 200 strong, they are helping to make necessary advances in research to cure this disease,” said Wittenberg.

The MMRF is grateful to Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, who will be a Gold Level supporter of the MMRF team efforts, hosting the charity’s post-race celebration at the Heartland Brewery, located in the Empire State Building. Other supporters of the MMRF include PwC, Yurbuds® sports earphones and Nathan Performance Sports. 

To learn more about the MMRF team for the Empire State Building Run-Up, please visit: www.themmrf.org/govertical.

About Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is an incurable blood cancer. The five-year relative survival rate for multiple myeloma is approximately 43 percent, one of the lowest of all cancers. In 2013, more than 22,000 adults in the United States will be diagnosed with multiple myeloma and nearly 11,000 people are predicted to die from the disease.

About the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF)

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) was established in 1998 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization by twin sisters Karen Andrews and Kathy Giusti, soon after Kathy’s diagnosis with multiple myeloma. The mission of the MMRF is to relentlessly pursue innovative means that accelerate the development of next-generation multiple myeloma treatments to extend the lives of patients and lead to a cure. As the world’s number-one private funder of multiple myeloma research, the MMRF has raised over $240 million since its inception and directs 90% of total budget to research and related programming. As a result, the MMRF has been awarded Charity Navigator’s coveted four-star rating for 11 consecutive years, the highest designation for outstanding fiscal responsibility and exceptional efficiency. For more information about the MMRF, please visit: www.themmrf.org.

Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company

Millennium is proud to be a Gold Level Sponsor of the MMRF Team for the Empire State Building Run-Up. Millennium is a leading biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, MA, that markets VELCADE andhas a robust clinical development pipeline of product candidates. The Company’s research, development and commercialization activities are focused in oncology. Additional information about Millennium is available through its website, www.millennium.com

About the Empire State Building

Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan (from base to antenna), the Empire State Building, owned by Empire State Realty Trust, Inc., is the “World’s Most Famous Office Building.” With new investments in energy efficiency, infrastructure, public areas and amenities, the Empire State Building has attracted first-rate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world. The skyscraper’s robust broadcasting technology supports all major television and FM radio stations in the New York metropolitan market. The Empire State Building was named America’s favorite building in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects, and the Empire State Building Observatory is one of the world’s most beloved attractions as the region’s #1 tourist destination. For more information on the Empire State Building, please visit www.esbnyc.com, www.facebook.com/empirestatebuilding, @EmpireStateBldg, www.instagram.com/empirestatebldg, www.youtube.com/esbnyc or www.pinterest.com/empirestatebldg/.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), owns, manages, operates, acquires and repositions office and retail properties in Manhattan and the greater New York metropolitan area, including the Empire State Building, the world’s most famous office building. Headquartered in New York, New York, the Company’s office and retail portfolio covers 8.4 million rentable square feet, as of September 30, 2013, consisting of 7.8 million rentable square feet in 12 office properties, including seven in Manhattan, three in Fairfield County, Connecticut and two in Westchester County, New York; and approximately 645,000 rentable square feet in the retail portfolio. The Company also owns land at the Stamford, Connecticut Transportation Center that supports the development of an approximately 380,000 rentable square foot office building and garage and has an option to acquire two additional Manhattan office properties encompassing approximately 1.5 million rentable square feet of office space and over 150,000 rentable square feet of retail space at the base of the buildings.

About NYRR

Founded in 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization, whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. NYRR’s commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, community events, youth initiatives, school programs, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year, from children to seniors, with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to run for life. NYRR’s premier event, the TCS New York City Marathon, features 50,000 participants, from the world’s elite athletes to a wide range of recreational and charity runners, and is part of the World Marathon Majors, an alliance of the world’s six biggest marathons that determines each year’s top male and top female marathoner. To learn more, visit www.nyrr.org.

For interviews with runners, further information and race day photos, contact:

Jeff Blumenfeld,

Blumenfeld and Assoc. PR

Jeff@blumenfeldpr.com

203 655 1600 

c 203 326 1200

blumenfeldpr.com