More than 5,000 Saints fans gathered in Champions Square in early morning hours on Saturday, Sept. 6 to participate in the SAINTS KICKOFF RUN presented by Chevron to kick off the 2014 Saints regular season.
"Without a doubt our Saints Kickoff Run is a marquee event for fans and runners who love the Saints," said Jamie Monroe of Easy Day Sports, the event's producer. "There is no better way to kick off the 2014 season than with thousands of Saints fans celebrating the return of football New Orleans' style in Champions Square. It's just a great running event and a great party."
The first participant to cross the finish line on the 50-yard line of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome was last year's winner Ian Carr, with a time of 16:09.
Kristy Horner was the women's winner with a time of 19:57.
5,119 adults participated in the race as groups began in waves starting at 7:30 a.m. Of the adults, 2984 of the participants were women and 2135 were men.
Children were invited to run in the half-mile long NFL 'PLAY 60' Fun Run for Kids once the adult race completed.
Fans were then escorted to Champions Square where they enjoyed music from the Bucktown All-Star and free beer provided by Bud Light as they waited for Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Steve Gleason to participate in world's largest ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
Proceeds from the race will benefit NORDC and the Louisiana Children's Museum.
"The SAINTS KICKOFF RUN Presented by Chevron will give us a chance to promote healthy initiatives for our community while celebrating the great Saints spirit for which our city is known," said Chevron Gulf Coast of Mexico Vice President Michael Illanne. "Chevron is proud to participate in kicking off another great season of football with this event benefitting NORDC and the Louisiana Children's Museum."
