Milk Continues Commitment to Supporting Female Athletes with New York City Marathon Experiential Activation

Milk (yes, real dairy milk) returned to the marathon in New York City over the weekend as part of the organization’s 26.2 campaign. The campaign, developed by business agency GALE, is a nationwide program of support and a commitment to sponsor female marathon runners - putting real women and their power, perseverance, and stories in the spotlight while supporting the next generation of runners in partnership with Girls on the Run. To date, Team Milk’s 15,000 runners have helped generate $1,000,000 USD in fundraising to date. 

This year, Milk offered unparalleled support to women runners with dedicated resources for Team Milk before, during and after the race. Female runners who signed up to be part of Team Milk at this year’s marathon expo or online at gonnaneedmilk.com/26.2 gained exclusive access to female-centric marathon training, recovery, and nutrition tips from leading experts, custom gear, expert pre-race stretching by NY Stretch, and access to an empowering community of women runners. 

Runners were welcomed to Team Milk at the Javits Centre expo with an experiential activation that offered runners the chance to be celebrated in Milk’s out of home campaign with runners’ pictures transformed into digital out-of-home billboards across New York City.

Before the race, Team Milk was invited to join two pre-marathon shake-out runs in Central Park, led by certified run coach Alysha Flynn and Sad Girl Track Club’s Izzy Seidel (with special guest - Olympian Molly Seidel) to loosen their legs, receive curated race-ready gifts, and prepare for the big day with a community of like-minded women. 

Post-race, Milk surprised runners after the finish line with the electrifying presence of Janelle Monáe at the Team Milk VIP Recovery Lounge. The singer-songwriter and actor helped female runners celebrate the incredible accomplishment of running a marathon with an empowering DJ set within the VIP Recovery Lounge which also featured professional stretchers from NY Stretch, compression boots, recovery gear and chocolate milk to help repair and rebuild their muscles.

Through the sign-ups of Team Milk, Milk has helped to raise $1,000,000 in fundraising towards Girls on the Run, an organization dedicated to empowering girls through running and physical activity. Milk’s ‘Every. Woman. Sponsored’’ fund supports Girls on the Run with the development of a new suite of curricula designed to empower, inspire and motivate young girls and provide them with confidence through running.

“Milk is dedicated to championing the strength and resilience of every woman,” said MilkPEP CEO Yin Woon Rani. “We were excited to join forces with Janelle Monae to help commend these incredible female athletes on achieving an accomplishment of a lifetime.” 

“It is incredible to have a partner that values showing up. From Milk’s International Women’s Day announcement and pledge to only feature females across campaigns, to their dedication to sponsoring and supporting female athletes, our campaigns are only as strong as our commitments,” says GALE Director of PR Erin Lyden. “We are thrilled to see the response from the community with the continuation of 26.2 in NYC and are looking to explore ways in which we can support this community further.”