LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Skechers Performance returns as title sponsor for the 2019 Skechers Performance™ Los Angeles Marathon® on Sunday, March 24. At the big event and throughout race weekend, the performance brand will offer exclusive race-branded merchandise to runners as well as fans. And the world will be watching as 2016 and 2018 Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon winner Weldon Kirui returns to compete for a record-breaking third victory at the race.
“Now in our fourth year as title sponsor, we are proud to host more than 24,000 runners from across the United States and more than 60 countries, who will join us in bringing this monumental event to life,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “From first-time marathoners to seasoned runners and elite athletes to all the fans and supporters, we look forward to the camaraderie and enthusiasm that this race creates for Southern California. And we’ll be watching Skechers elite athlete Weldon Kirui when he runs Sunday to attempt a record third victory on this iconic course.”
Visitors to the Skechers Performance booth at the Health & Fitness EXPO in the Los Angeles Convention Center will have the opportunity to meet Weldon, as well as four-time Olympian Meb Keflezighi on Saturday, March 23 at 11AM. Meb will also be signing his new inspirational book, 26 Marathons: What I've Learned About Faith, Identity, Running, and Life From Each Marathon I’ve Run (Rodale Books), which will be available for purchase.
A collection of exclusive race-themed and inspired footwear and apparel will be offered at the EXPO. Influenced by the colors of LA’s top sports teams, the collection includes limited edition pairs of Skechers GO RUN Forza 3™ and Skechers GO RUN Ride 7™. Additionally, a new color of the Skechers GO RUN Razor 3 Hyper™ will debut and be available for purchase at the EXPO—this new training and racing style features an innovative Hyper Burst™ midsole and was recently named Editors’ Choice by Runner’s World. The collection is currently available on Skechers.com and at select Skechers retail stores in the Los Angeles area.
A two-time champion of the Los Angeles Marathon, Weldon was born and raised in Kenya and is one of the most accomplished distance runners in the world. His marathon personal best of 2:09:06 was set at the Eindhoven Marathon in the Netherlands and his wins include the Kass Marathon (Kenya National Championship in Eldoret) and the California International Marathon in Sacramento. Weldon has also been the champion of the AFC San Diego Half Marathon in California and the Krems Half Marathon in Austria, setting his personal record at that distance in a time of 61:10. When in Los Angeles, Weldon works with “Students Run LA”—a program for at-risk high school students who learn goal-setting and character development while receiving adult mentoring and improved health by training to run the LA Marathon.
Since its debut with the first model of Skechers GO RUN® worn by Meb Keflezighi in 2011, Skechers Performance footwear has earned respect throughout the running world and won numerous awards within the footwear industry. Skechers Elite runner Edward Cheserek trains, races and has won numerous events in footwear featuring the new Hyper Burst midsole. The Skechers GO RUN collection for men and women is available at Skechers retail stores and skechers.com as well as select retail partners.
About Skechers U.S.A., Inc.
Based in Manhattan Beach, California, Skechers (NYSE:SKX) designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle footwear for men, women and children, as well as performance footwear for men and women. Skechers footwear is available in the United States and over 170 countries and territories worldwide via department and specialty stores, more than 3,000 Skechers Company-owned and third-party-owned retail stores, and the Company’s e-commerce websites. The Company manages its international business through a network of global distributors, joint venture partners in Asia and the Middle East, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, Japan, India, throughout Europe and Latin America. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Skechers’ future domestic and international growth, financial results and operations including expected net sales and earnings, its development of new products, future demand for its products, its planned domestic and international expansion, opening of new stores and additional expenditures, and advertising and marketing initiatives. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking language such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will result,” “could,” “may,” “might,” or any variations of such words with similar meanings. Any such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include international economic, political and market conditions including the challenging consumer retail markets in the United States; sustaining, managing and forecasting costs and proper inventory levels; losing any significant customers; decreased demand by industry retailers and cancellation of order commitments due to the lack of popularity of particular designs and/or categories of products; maintaining brand image and intense competition among sellers of footwear for consumers, especially in the highly competitive performance footwear market; anticipating, identifying, interpreting or forecasting changes in fashion trends, consumer demand for the products and the various market factors described above; sales levels during the spring, back-to-school and holiday selling seasons; and other factors referenced or incorporated by reference in Skechers’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. The risks included here are not exhaustive. Skechers operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and the companies cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can the companies assess the impact of all such risk factors on their respective businesses or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Moreover, reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance.
