The Woodlands Marathon Health and Fitness Expo prepares for 10000 athletes and visitors

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Highlighted by an appearance from Al Lawrence, 1956 Olympic bronze medalist at 10,000 meters, and approximately 45 vendors from across southeast Texas, final preparations are underway to welcome more than 10,000 participants and visitors to The Woodlands Marathon Management Health and Fitness Expo next week at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center.

The Health and Fitness Expo, held as part of the fourth annual Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon, will be open for runners and visitors from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, February 26 and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, February 27 in the North Exhibit Hall.

The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center is located at 1601 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77380.

In addition to runners coming to the Expo to pick-up their race materials for next Friday’s Pathfinder Pediatric Homecare 2K or Saturday’s Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon, CHI St. Luke’s Health The Woodlands Half Marathon, 5Point Credit Union Marathon Relay or the Fleet Feet Sports 5K, they can engage with businesses who are eager to support their efforts to lead the healthiest and most active lifestyle possible.

“We’re thrilled to have a record number of exhibitors attending this year's Expo,” said Expo Coordinator June Kolesar. “We have worked hard to bring back favorite vendors from last year as well as adding new merchandise and service providers that we believe the runners will find very appealing.”

Multiple exhibitors will be sampling products and most will offer special “Expo Only” pricing to visitors to their booth.

“The Expo is a great opportunity to meet health professionals and get some advice, hear expert speakers on nutrition and running, and shop for everything from sports apparel and equipment to sunglasses, jewelry and nutritional supplements,” Kolesar added.

Airrosti will be providing free kinesio taping for runners on Thursday only, while Kroger, Zipfizz, Advocare, Bluejay Pharmacy, Power Crunch and Nutrition Depot are among the many vendors who will be providing runners with free samples.

A complete list of exhibitors can be found at thewoodlandsmarathon.com.

Not only can runners help themselves to specials during the Health and Fitness Expo, but they’re able to help others with the miles they’ve put behind them.

Collection bins will be setup outside the entrance of the Expo to receive new and used shoes to support a Woodlands Church effort to this year collect 10,000 pairs for those in need in the greater Houston area and the remote mountains of Haiti where the church has been working the last four years.

Spearheaded a year ago by a young 10-year-old girl who dreamed big with a heart for others, more than 6,500 pairs of shoes went to help those in the Dominican Republic.

And for the third year in a row, Media Relations Coordinator Jon Walk continues to enhance the Speaker Series presented by The Woodlands Marathon Management with another impressive lineup of the area’s best athletes, coaches and clinicians – over both days of the Expo this year -- who will share their expertise and experiences in the sport with runners of all ages and experiences.

“We’re blessed to have incredible knowledge, talent and ability right here in The Woodlands and in the greater Houston area,” said Walk. “If runners want to glean something from the best and be inspired, we’ve got a program somewhere on the schedule for them.”

Olympic medalists are few and far between, but Houston running legend Al Lawrence – who won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 1956 Olympics for Australia -- will be promoting his new book, “Olympus and Beyond: A Story Of Life, Sport And Love On Four Continents”, with a presentation on Friday at 2:15 p.m.

Official coach of the Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon, Dana Lyons of Finish Strong Coaching will be providing multiple “Top 10 Racing Tips to Finish Strong” sessions for new and experienced runners alike on both Thursday and Friday.

In addition to the Elite Athlete Panel at 3 p.m., moderated by race announcer Adam Reiser from Austin, The Woodlands’ Ronnie Delzer and Houston’s Steve Maliszewski will be sharing their experiences at the most recent Rocky Raccoon 100- Mile Endurance Run and Badwater 135 on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Delzer, 33, posted one of the top 65 100-mile times ever in his debut at the distance after running collegiately for East Carolina and three Ironman finishes, while Maliszewski, 42, finished Badwater 135 – one of the world’s toughest endurance races – in under 36 hours and is entered again this summer.

Each speaker will have the opportunity to give away a complimentary entry to a race distance of choice – marathon, half marathon, 5K or 2K – to the fifth annual 2016 event. Additional items from Fuel Belt, RedFoxx Wireless and The Woodlands Marathon Management will accompany those items for runners, who are required to be present to win.

For more information about the fourth annual Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon, CHI St. Luke’s Health The Woodlands Half Marathon, the 5Point Credit Union Marathon Relay, the Fleet Feet Sports 5K or the Pathfinder Pediatric Homecare, please visit thewoodlandsmarathon.com.