News
Komen Promise Run set for Oct. 18
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- Published on Tuesday, 02 September 2014 17:39
- Written by Paul Gordon
The course is different and the relay portion of the race is for two people now, not four. But the 2nd Annual Susan G. Komen Memorial Promise Run & Relay on Oct. 18 will be every bit as important as the original as a major fundraiser for breast cancer research, race officials said Tuesday.
Those officials said they learned with last year’s race, leading to the changes, but they added they also learned survivors and others still want to find ways to help, said Gina Morss-Fischer, marketing and development coordinator for the Susan G. Komen Memorial Affiliate in Peoria.
“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it will be pink for sure in Peoria as we raise funds and awareness of this deadly disease,” Morss-Fischer said during a news conference at Running Central’s new downtown Peoria store.
Running Central is one of the race partners and its team called Shazzam Racing will score and time the race, said owner Adam White. “We’re all about health and exercise. One of the greatest combatants against cancer is exercise,” White said after announcing Running Central will give prizes to the top men’s and women’s finishers ̶ $300 gift certificate for first place finishers, $200 gift certificate for second place and $100 for third place.
The biggest change from last year is that the course is more compact, which race coordinator Phillip Lockwood said will make it easier for the runners, for the coordinators and for the emergency personnel along the course. The race no longer will use Bradley Park and Park Road or go past the Susan Komen burial site in Parkview Cemetery, so it will be less hilly for the runners.
The course now will still cross the Bob Michel Bridge and take in a small part of East Peoria, but now will use part of Southtown, including along Richard Pryor Place, and will run to Springdale Cemetery and Glen Oak Park before returning to downtown to the finish line at the Gateway Building.
Reducing the footprint will not reduce the length of the half-marathon, 13.1 miles, Lockwood said. By being less spread out it will be easier for volunteers to maintain the course and for emergency personnel to patrol as needed, he added. “Our area emergency personnel are world-class in their level of support,” he said.
He said it was decided to direct the course into part of Southtown and along Richard Pryor Place and past Carver Center because the Komen Memorial Affiliate wants to reach out to African-American women to become more involved. That, added Morss-Fischer, is because it has been shown that African-American women get diagnosed later for one reason or another, meaning their survival rate is not as good. “We want to bring people together from all parts of the community to help each other,” she said.
Another change is that this year’s event will include a 1-Mile River Walk for those not up for an endurance run. “It’s another way to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” she said.
Finally, the race is being run on a Saturday instead of Sunday, which Lockwood said could help bring out more volunteers.
Morss-Fischer said more than 400 people participated in the event last year and the Komen Memorial Affiliate wants 500-plus this year as well as continued growth in subsequent years.
Registration is open and before Oct. 1 it costs $70 for individual runners and $40 per person for the relay teams. After Oct. 1 it will be $80 for individual runners and $45 a person for the relay teams. The cost is $25 to participate in the 1 Mile River Walk.
To register visit www.komenmemorial.org or call (309) 691-6906.
Also in October will be the Pink Promise Survivor Fashion Show and Luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 30 at the Par-A-Dice Hotel in East Peoria.
Survivors pay just $15 for the event. General admission is $40 and a table of 10 is $350. Call the Komen office at (309) 691-6906.
Among those displaying clothes at the event will be Running Central, said White.
