SAMUEL ADAMS AND BOSTON MARATHON PARTNERING FOR 2012 RACE
By Chris Lotsbom
(c) 2012 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

(23-Feb) -- Organizers of the Boston Marathon, scheduled for Monday, April 16, announced today a partnership with The Boston Beer Company, brewers of Samuel Adams beers. The company will be the official beer sponsor of the 2012 Boston Marathon, creating a special commemorative brew for the event.

"Our partnership is a perfect fit because of our shared history" a Boston-born brewery joining the biggest of Boston traditions," said Samuel Adams founder and brewer Jim Koch in a statement.

Koch and Samuel Adams will be developing a special beer for the 116th edition of the Hopkinton-to-Boston race, dubbed "Samuel Adams Boston 26.2 Brew." The special beer will be sold at race-related events, as well as pubs and restaurants along the race route and in Boston.

"We at the B.A.A. are very pleased to be partnering with another Boston institution," said Joann Flaminio, President of the Boston Athletic Association.  "The Boston Marathon is all about Boston and all about competitive success in a challenging environment. The same is true of the folks at The Boston Beer Company and Samuel Adams. They are our neighbors here in town, and they have gotten where they are through the same hard work that we see from all of the athletes from around the world who work hard to qualify to run the Boston Marathon each year."

The Boston Marathon and Samuel Adams also share a famous date in Massachusetts history. Jim Koch released his first batch of the famous Samuel Adams Boston Lager on Patriots' Day of 1985; each year, the Boston Marathon is traditionally run on the third Monday in April, the Patriots' Day holiday in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

"The Marathon"s finish line was my starting line," said Koch.

ENDS