More ______ than runners will make their debut at the Boston Marathon

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced today that it has partnered with Rainier Fruit for the Boston Marathon, one of the world’s most prestigious running events.

More than 40,000 apples are expected to make their Boston debut on April 18 as part of a multi-year sponsorship agreement between the B.A.A. and the Washington-based fruit company. If you’re looking for a pre- or post-race apple, Rainier will be the only available choice.

“We’re very pleased to add Rainier Fruit into our family of Boston Marathon sponsors,” said B.A.A. executive director, Tom Grilk. “We’re especially pleased to see not only how our event will bring Rainier apples to the runners, but how Rainier will bind our brand to its packaging across the country.”

The United States is the second-leading producer of Apples with much of the cultivation coming from Washington.

This April’s race will be the 120th running of the Boston Marathon. Rainier Fruit, one of the more prominent U.S. growers of fruit (they produce apples, pears, cherries and organic blueberries) is slightly older celebrating its 128th year of production this year.

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According to the B.A.A., an array of apples will be available before the event in the athletes’ village and in the finish line area of the race.

Apples are not an ideal source of pre-race energy, however, as the fruit contains high amounts of fibre. According to the Dietitians of Canada, fibre “includes all parts of plant foods that your body can’t digest or absorb.”

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“As a leading grower of both conventional and organic apples, pears, cherries and blueberries, we have been in business for 128 years and it makes perfect sense for us to sponsor a legacy event like the oldest, most prestigious running event in the country, if not the world, the Boston Marathon,” remarked Mark Zirkle, the president of Rainier Fruit.

April 18, the day of the Boston Marathon, is also Patriots’ Day, a civic holiday observed in Massachusetts, Maine and Wisconsin.

The Boston Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, along with international marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City.

With excerpts from a Boston Athletics Association media release.