Fitness First: Health & Fitness Expo, Race Packet Pickup For Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon Set For April 25-26 At Monmouth Park

MONMOUTH BEACH, NJ, April 11, 2014 (Press-News.org) In what is fast becoming a rite of spring, the Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon, produced by Life Time -The Healthy Way of Life Company, has announced the return of the New Jersey Marathon Health & Fitness Expo, Friday and Saturday, April 25-26 at Monmouth Park. In addition to Race Packet Pickup for the Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon, Long Branch Half Marathon, Half Marathon Relay and ShapingNJ 5K, the two-day celebration will feature a variety of activities, including a free Presentation Series, exercise and yoga classes and more.

More than 18,000 athletes, race spectators and other interested men, women and children are expected to participate in the free event, which will be held from 1-7 p.m. on Friday, April 25, and 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 26.

"Expanding race packet pickup into a full, two-day event and incorporating these many elements to promote health and fitness has been a great success," said Joe Gigas, Race Director. "Many of the thousands who attended the New Jersey Marathon Health & Fitness Expo last year will return and bring their friends and family, allowing everyone to be a part of New Jersey's official marathon."

Key Presentation Series events to be held during the New Jersey Marathon Health & Fitness Expo include:

· Training Sessions for all runners (Fri., 1:30 p.m., by Kaiser Therapy) and tailored for distance runners (Fri., 2 p.m., Sat., 1 p.m., by JMP Fitness)
· Fueling for Race Day Success (Fri., 3 p.m., Sat., 11 a.m.) by Draper Training and Nutrition
· Adopting a Healthy Life Style and Achieving Your Goals (Fri., 4 p.m., Sat., 10:30 a.m.) by Stay Strong Multi-Sport
· Race Pacing Strategy (Fri., 6:30 p.m., Sat., 3:30 p.m.) by Otto Lam, Pace Team Director
· Post-Marathon Recovery Plan (Fri., 4:30 p.m., Sat., 5 p.m.), by Nourish.Sculpt.Motivate
· 2014 Course Overviews (Fri., 6 p.m., Sat., 4 p.m.), by Jim Thomas, Course Director
· Training and Racing with Type 1 Diabetes (Fri., 7 p.m), by Jay Hewitt, Ironman triathlete
· Proper Usage and Application of Taping (Sat, 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.), by Kinesio Taping Association
· Yoga for All Ages (Sat., 3 p.m.), by Monmouth Beach Yoga & Wellness

For more details on the Presentation Series and links to the participating organizations, visit http://www.gigas.us/njm/2014rdu/2014rd8.pdf.

The New Jersey Marathon Health & Fitness Expo will also feature two important charity elements: a food drive and athletic shoe drive. In partnership with Move For Hunger (www.moveforhunger.org), collection bins and staff will be available to collect donations and distribute them to local food banks. The MORE Foundation Group (www.morefoundationgroup.org) will be at the Expo collecting used athletic shoes to benefit the poorest villages in Ghana, West Africa.

The 18th Annual Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon, produced by Life Time, will take place on April 27, highlighting the weekend that in addition to the Health & Fitness Expo also includes competitive Long Branch Half Marathon, Half Marathon Relay and new ShapingNJ 5k races.

This month's race marks the first time the event is produced by Life Time, which recently acquired US Road Sports. The race begins inside Monmouth Park in Oceanport and finishes on the Long Branch Oceanfront Promenade, north of Pier Village. Wheelchair athletes start at 6:45 a.m. for the half-marathon and 8 a.m. for the full marathon, followed in waves by the rest of the corrals.

Registration for all events, course views, information about volunteering, sponsorship and details of the entire weekend of activities are available at the race Web site at http://www.NJMarathon.org and the event Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/NJMarathon. Runners and fans are encouraged to follow the Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon on Twitter @NJMarathon.

In addition to the elite athletes in the Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon, seasoned runners, beginning runners, athletes with disabilities and walkers are all invited to participate.

About Novo Nordisk
Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk is a global health care company with 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. The company also has leading positions within hemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone therapy. For more information, visit novonordisk-us.com or follow US activities on Twitter at @novonordiskus.

About Life Time Fitness, Inc.
As The Healthy Way of Life Company, Life Time Fitness (NYSE:LTM) helps organizations, communities and individuals achieve their total health objectives, athletic aspirations and fitness goals by engaging in their areas of interest - or discovering new passions - both inside and outside of Life Time's distinctive and large sports, professional fitness, family recreation and spa destinations, most of which operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Company's Healthy Way of Life approach enables members to achieve this by providing the best programs, people and places of uncompromising quality and value. As of April 8, 2014, the Company operated 109 centers under the LIFE TIME FITNESS and LIFE TIME ATHLETIC brands in the United States and Canada. Additional information about Life Time centers, programs and services is available at lifetimefitness.com.