Rodale Garners Two National Magazine Awards - Industry's Highest Honor

Rodale Garners (Business Wire) - 02 May 2008

RunnersWorld.com Wins For General Excellence Online

Bicycling.com's GPS Tool Is Awarded Best Interactive Feature

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rodale Inc. announced today that RunnersWorld.com and Bicycling.com each received a National Magazine Award (NMA), the magazine industry’s highest editorial honor, from the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME). RunnersWorld.com was recognized for General Excellence Online, while Bicycling.com's GPS Tool won for best Interactive Feature. SVP and Editor-in-Chief of Runner's World and newly elected President of ASME David Willey and VP and Editor-in-Chief of Bicycling Steve Madden accepted the coveted “Ellies” last night at the 43rd Annual National Magazine Awards event in New York. Named after the Alexander Calder Stabile "Elephant," the 2008 "Ellies" drew a record-setting 1,964 entries from 333 print and online magazines.

Steven Pleshette Murphy, president and CEO of Rodale, said, “This is a tremendous honor for Runner’s World and Bicycling. I'm especially thrilled as our editorial teams have been working so hard to create exciting Web experiences for their users. They are succeeding -- this year, traffic to our sites has more than doubled."

"These sites are not just the online homes of their respective brands -- they’re the destinations of choice for the running and cycling communities at large," continued Murphy. "Our talented teams, led by David Willey, Runner’s World Online Executive Editor Mark Remy, Runner’s World Online Executive Producer George Vlahogiannis, Steve Madden, Bicycling Online Editor David L’Heureux, and Bicycling Online Senior Producer Matthew Linde are constantly innovating to create content, tools, and features that match the passion and energy of our users. It's wonderful for Runner's World and Bicycling to have been voted winners by a jury of their peers."

RunnersWorld.com – General Excellence Online

RunnersWorld.com won in a category that recognizes outstanding magazine Web sites for conveying a distinct editorial identity and creating a unique magazine environment on the web.

According to ASME, "Whether you're just thinking about taking up running, a seasoned marathon veteran, or perhaps are wondering how much running you can plan to do during a pregnancy, RunnersWorld.com fulfills its goal of being the top Web resource for runners of all levels. The site hosts an online community of thousands of users along with a cluster of lively blogs, e-newsletters, RSS feeds, and videos, engaging its readership with motivational, practical, and actionable information."

Bicycling.com – Interactive Feature

Bicycling.com won in a category that honors a site's creative use of multimedia technology, user involvement, community tools, and/or exceptional work in the blog form.

According to ASME, "The GPS Rides Tool on Bicycling.com is a rare combination of high-tech, smart, and useful, bringing together the technology of AllSportGPS.com, the mapping ability of Google, and the passion of cyclists. The tool allows riders to map their favorite routes using their handheld GPS units, upload them to the site along with commentary and photos, and share them with other riders."

About Rodale Inc.

Rodale Inc. is the authoritative source for trusted content in health, fitness, and wellness around the world, reaching more than 70 million people globally. The company publishes some of the best-known health and wellness lifestyle magazines, including Men's Health, Prevention, Women's Health, Runner's World, Best Life, Bicycling, Running Times, Mountain Bike, and Organic Gardening, and is also the largest independent book publisher in America with a collection of international titles, including The South Beach Diet and The Abs Diet franchises, and Al Gore’s New York Times bestseller An Inconvenient Truth. Rodale’s broad range of media platforms includes magazines, books, video, and extensive Web sites. The company is also a leader in direct-response marketing and has more than 25 million active customers in its database. www.rodale.com.