Rockport Runners to Run the 2009 NYC Marathon in Dress Shoes Led by Andy Baldwin of "The Bachelor"

New Footwear Styles of Rockport’s DresSports Weigh Less Than an Average Running Shoe; Runners To Put It To Test

• Press Release
• Source: The Rockport Company, LLC
• On 3:01 pm EDT, Thursday October 22, 2009

CANTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, The Rockport ® Company (www.rockport.com) is pleased to showcase the style and comfort of its new DresSports dress shoes by announcing a team of runners led by Andy Baldwin of “The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman” fame, who will don DresSports 2 for the 2009 NYC Marathon, the world’s most widely-watched marathon. First introduced in 1983, the classic DresSports are engineered with adidas performance inspiration. The marriage of athletic innovation in the bottom and sophisticated dress style in the upper carries through to today’s second generation: DresSports 2.

Rockport has taken major steps to update the DresSports collection by making style and comfort the main focus. Each DresSports style weighs less than the average running shoe. “The DresSports collection is an important part of Rockport’s heritage and we are excited to update it for today’s consumer,” said Michael Rupp, Rockport CEO and president. “Our designers removed unnecessary materials and technologies to create one of the most comfortable, lightest weight dress shoes available on the market.”

Known to offer cushioning and support for miles and miles, DresSports will be worn by international amateur runners, including Andy Baldwin, for 26.2 miles during the NYC Marathon on November 1, 2000. These runners, who hail from five different countries, will illustrate the versatility, comfort and lightness of the DresSports collection by completing the marathon. The Rockport running team will be led by Baldwin who is a U.S Navy Lieutenant and tri-athlete, and is best known for his appearance on the 10^th season of “The Bachelor”. Four of the runners will be running for ING’s “Run for Something Better” program through the Orange Laces campaign as a tie-in to a fundraising collaboration between ING and Rockport during the 2009 NYC marathon weekend.

The DresSports 2 collection includes four styles for men and is now available worldwide at premium department stores, independent retail stores, Rockport retail stores and on rockport.com.

When Michael Rupp was appointed CEO in 2008, he encouraged the Rockport designers to return to the company’s roots. He recognized that Rockport has authentic, heritage footwear styles, like DresSports, that could be streamlined and modernized to appeal to today’s consumer. With the positive reaction to the updated DresSports collection, the company plans to continue to refresh legacy footwear styles and introduce them in future seasonal collections.

About Rockport

The Rockport Company, LLC, is a leading brand within the adidas Group corporate portfolio and the top brown shoe company in the United States. Rockport has a heritage of innovation and offers comfortable footwear for men and women worldwide. The Rockport Company, LLC, was established in the United States in 1971 and is headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts. The company currently distributes footwear to more than 70 countries. For more information, visit www.rockport.com.

About the ING Run For Something Better

The ING Run For Something Better is a fundraising campaign that supports community and school-based youth running programs. Linked to ING's long-distance race sponsorships, the program was created to introduce kids to the benefits of sport, a habit of physical fitness, and a healthy lifestyle that prevents conditions such as childhood obesity. In today's world of poor nutrition and less-active lifestyles—which may contribute to childhood obesity—ING is using its position as a sponsor of marathons as a platform for helping kids get fit through free, school-based running programs. Nationally, ING has committed over $2.5 million to fund grants and school-based running programs through ING Run For Something Better. Since 2006, over a half a million dollars has been raised by individual donors through the orange laces program. ING has also created a special charitable fund to encourage others to support the cause by making their own contribution. When someone donates $10 or more to the ING Run For Something Better, ING will recognize their contribution by giving them a special pair of orange shoelaces to wear showing that they are "tied" to supporting kids' fitness. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of orange laces go to the ING Run For Something Better fitness programs. For more information about the orange laces, go to www.orangelaces.com.

For The Rockport Company
Mark Tanno
Account Director
646-792-2490 (office)
Mark.Tanno@mcsaatchi.com
or
Sandra Carreon-John
Senior Vice President
646-274-1295 (office)
Sandra.Carreonjohn@mcsaatchi.com