With you every step of the way!

Every marathoner who has ever been met by a member of their family or a friend along the course will tell you just how uplifting such support from the sidelines can be! A few encouraging words or a knowing smile can put a spring back into weary legs.

Unfortunately not every runner can have their support team with them on race day. This is especially true when runners come from all corners of the world, such as those taking part in the ING New York City Marathon.

While the New York crowds do their best to cheer on every single athlete, ASICS has pioneered an amazing new way to give runners something extra.

On giant LED screens along the course, personalised messages, videos or photos were displayed to the runners. 'RFID' tags, given to runners during registration and worn in their shoes during the race, triggered the right message for the right runner as they passed selected sensor checkpoints on the course.

Before race day ASICS had set up a campaign site, dedicated to taking images, video, messages, texts, tweets and Facebook comments of support for runners in the event. They had also set up live video booths at the event, allowing friends and family to record personal message in style.

7000 messages for runners from 17 countries were passed on during this year's ING New York City Marathon. This, along with the many other innovative ways the New York Road Runner's club helped to share the excitement of this classic race, such as an i-app and the marathon channel, not only helps to runners through the race, it also gets friends and family involved in the event!