Olympic runner Beverly Ramos helps inspire children to become runners for life

BRONX (WABC) -- An Olympic runner from Puerto Rico worked with the New York Road Runners to distribute 200 pairs of sneakers to the children at MS 244 The New School for Leadership and The Arts earlier this fall.

It was all part of the Rising New York Road Runners, which is a free, nationwide youth fitness program. It serves over 100,000 students from pre-K to 12th grade in NYC and across the country.

The goal of this program is to encourage kids to be physically active for life and it all starts with a pair of new shoes.

"It's amazing to see the excitement the students have with getting a new pair of shoes that fit, that were designed for them, that are not a hand me down from someone else, but really get them excited about what they're about to do," Kerin Hempel, CEO of NYRR, said.

It doesn't hurt when an Olympian comes to your school either, though.

"It's going to be exciting to meet her and really listen to her story and have the kids listen to her story," MS 244 Principal Eduardo Mora said.

Olympic runner Beverly Ramos joined the New York Road Runners to help distribute the free New Balance sneakers to the students in the Bronx.

The kids got to test out their new shoes with some drills from Ramos.

"It's special," she said. "I remember being their age and when we got special people coming to the school and talking to us and inspiring us. There's a chance out there that you can have a running career and a career in any sport and that's the message today. To inspire them and hopefully, they'll have a bit more confidence to pursue a more active lifestyle."

The Rising New York Road Runners program hopes this event can keep the kids running for life.

"Running is just so special not just for the physical benefits but also the mental health benefits it provides, the community, the feeling of accomplishment and setting your goals and not everyone is going to be an Olympian but you can still learn skills that will stick with them for life," Hempel said.

Since 2007, Rising New York Road Runners has distributed more than 37,000 pairs of shoes to kids at schools with limited resources.

RELATED: More coverage of the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon

HOW TO WATCH THE TCS NEW YORK CITY MARATHON

Marathon Day in New York is coming up November 6th! The TCS New York City Marathon will be broadcast to more than 530 million homes around the world, with a Spanish language broadcast being produced nationwide for the first time by ESPN.

WABC-TV and ESPN2 have been home to the award-winning broadcast of the world's largest marathon since 2013.

It will be the first Spanish-language broadcast of any marathon to air on ESPN Deportes, airing live on ESPN3 and the App from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and then will re-air on ESPN Deportes from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST.

Joining the talent team for this year's domestic broadcast will be five-time TCS New York City Marathon champion and 13-time Paralympic medalist Kurt Fearnley and running reporter Chris Chavez. Fearnley will be in the broadcast booth as a race analyst for all four professional divisions, and Chavez will make his broadcast debut on the men's moto. John Anderson, Lewis Johnson, three-time Olympian and former American record-holder Deena Kastor, Sage Steele, and Olympian Carrie Tollefson will round out the national talent.

The group will be joined by a talented array of reporters at the start, finish, along the course, and in the sky, including ABC7's Eyewitness News reporters Ryan Field, Sam Ryan, Anthony Johnson, Kemberly Richardson, Michelle Charlesworth, Lee Goldberg, Brittany Bell, and Josh Einiger.

The broadcast, produced in coordination with 45 Live and distributed by IMG, will air on ABC7/WABC-TV and ESPN2 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST. Pre-race coverage from Fort Wadsworth begins at 7:00 a.m. EST.

The race will also stream live on the ESPN App nationally from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST.

Pre-race and continuing coverage will also be streamed live nationally on ESPN3 (accessible on the ESPN App and ESPN.com) from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ESPN3 will present a view of the finish line from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST.

A two-hour encore presentation of the race broadcast will air on ABC affiliates around the country from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.

The international broadcast will include three-time TCS New York City Marathon champion and four-time British Olympian Paula Radcliffe providing race analysis, alongside veteran track and field commentator Paul Swangard.

International broadcast partners secured by IMG for the race include: FloSports (Australia, Canada, United Kingdom), ESPN Brasil (Brazil), SMG Sports (China), Eurosport (Pan Europe, Pan Asia, India), L'Equipe (France), RAI (Italy), TV Asahi (Japan), Sky Mexico (Mexico), NOS (Netherlands), Sky (New Zealand), SuperSport (Sub-Saharan Africa), ESPN International (South America), and TVE and TV3 (Spain).