Sprint for Life 5K May 4
Benefits Ovarian Cancer Research

Runners and walkers of all ages can support the Blanton-Davis Ovarian Cancer Research Program at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center by participating in the Sprint for Life 5K Run and Walk.

The fifth annual event, sponsored by Randalls Food Markets, takes place Saturday, May 4, starting at 7:30 a.m. in the Texas Medical Center.

More than $400,000 has been raised since the event’s inception in 1998. Proceeds from the race will benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Program at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, named in honor of the late Laura Lee Scurlock Blanton and Sandra G. Davis. Dr. Judith K. Wolf, assistant professor in M.D. Anderson’s department of gynecologic oncology, will serve as the event’s chair. In Blanton’s memory, her daughter, Elizabeth Wareing, will serve alongside Shirley Coskey, both members of M.D. Anderson’s Board of Visitors, as the event’s honorary co-chairs.

For the first time, two $50,000 research grants will be awarded to two M.D. Anderson researchers working on finding a cure for this disease.

Continental Airlines rewards certificates will be awarded to male and female 5K participants who finish first overall and first in the over-40 age group. First-place finishers in additional age categories as well as corporate and group teams will be recognized.

Other race-day activities include the children’s Sprint for Sprouts and a post-race party for all participants.

Early registration is $17 for adults and $10 for children ages 12 and younger. Entry forms are available at all Houston-area Randalls, by calling race headquarters at (713) 792-2765; and online at http://www.mdander son.org/sprintforlife.

Sprint for Life was created to benefit the Blanton-Davis Ovarian Cancer Research Program and fund ovarian cancer research at M. D. Anderson. The goal of the program is to develop more effective screening methods and, ultimately, a cure for ovarian cancer through innovative research into the causes, prevention, detection and treatment of the disease. American Cancer Society figures estimate that more than 23,300 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year and 13,900 women will die from the disease.

Before her death from ovarian cancer in 1999, Blanton served as an advisor to the program, honorary chair for Sprint for Life and a lifetime member of M.D. Anderson’s Board of Visitors.

E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/05_01_02/page_27.html