{"id":101328,"date":"2020-06-15T21:14:40","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T01:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=101328"},"modified":"2020-06-15T21:14:40","modified_gmt":"2020-06-16T01:14:40","slug":"2020-st-lukes-via-marathon-powered-by-runners-world-is-going-virtual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=101328","title":{"rendered":"2020 St. Luke\u2019s Via Marathon Powered by Runner\u2019s World Is Going Virtual"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>BETHLEHEM, PA \u2013 The 2020 St. Luke\u2019s Via Marathon powered by Runner\u2019s World, is going virtual. In its 14th year, the race was scheduled for September 13th. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, even in the \u201cGreen Phase,\u201d Pennsylvania is limiting sporting events to no more than 250 people. Last year, more than 2,700 people participated in the event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur top priority is to safeguard the health of our community, staff, participants, volunteers, spectators and supporters,\u201d said Andy Deschenes, Race Director of the St. Luke\u2019s Via Marathon. \u201cAlthough we are disappointed that we can\u2019t host an in-person event this year, we are excited about holding this virtual event to give our runners the chance to continue reaching their goals and support Via\u2019s essential services for people with disabilities while staying safe and healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The virtual event will begin on July 1 and end on September 13. During this two-month period, runners will have the option to complete a Marathon, Half Marathon, Team Relay, 10K, 5K or walk at their own pace. Participants who have registered prior to this announcement will have the opportunity to transition their registration to the virtual event, convert their registration fee to a 100% tax deductible donation to Via of the Lehigh Valley, or defer their entry to 2021.<\/p>\n<p>For the past 13 years, the Via Marathon has promoted health and wellness in the Lehigh Valley, while raising funds and awareness for Via\u2019s mission to help people with disabilities reach their full potential. Via has always counted on community support to meet its mission and is looking forward to engaging the community in this virtual event.<\/p>\n<p>Registration for the virtual St. Luke\u2019s Via Marathon will open on July 1 at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ViaMarathon.org\/\">www.ViaMarathon.org.<\/a> Runners who have already registered for the event will receive an email with further information.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About Via of the Lehigh Valley<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Serving our community since 1952, Via helps people reach their full potential. Via provides services to 1,350 children and adults with disabilities living in Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Monroe, Pike, Bucks and Berks counties. These services include vocational exploration, community employment, educational activities, volunteer and recreational opportunities for teens and adults and early intervention therapies and inclusive education for young children. Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ViaNet.org\/\">www.ViaNet.org <\/a>to learn more about Via\u2019s services and how you can help.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nInformation provided to TVL by:<br \/>\nAlexis Zydyk<br \/>\nEvents &#038; Digital Media Manager<br \/>\nVia of the Lehigh Valley<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ViaNet.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.ViaNet.org\/<\/a><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><code class=\"code\">-AMAZONPOLLY-ONLYWORDS-START-<\/code><br \/>\n<div class='adkingprobanner sidebar banner3023'><a href='http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/' target=\"_blank\" data-id='3023' data-ga='{\"campaign\":\"\",\"banner\":\"\",\"implemented\":\"universal\",\"imp_action\":\"Impression\",\"click_action\":\"Click\"}'><img src='https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/inpostblank.jpg' alt='' \/><\/a><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class='adkingprobanner sidebar banner7036'><a href='http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com' target=\"_blank\" data-id='7036' data-ga='{\"campaign\":\"\",\"banner\":\"\",\"implemented\":\"universal\",\"imp_action\":\"Impression\",\"click_action\":\"Click\"}'><img src='https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/inpostblank.jpg' alt='' \/><\/a><\/div>\n<code class=\"code\">-AMAZONPOLLY-ONLYWORDS-END-<\/code><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?post_type=adverts_posts&p=7036\" class=\"read-more\">Click here to read more... <\/a>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101329,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/VIA-MARATHON.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101328"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=101328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/101329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=101328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=101328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=101328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}