Race for the Cure at Six Flags Great Adventure Oct. 5

The 15th annual Komen Central and South Jersey Race for the Cure will be held at the Six Flags Great Adventure theme park, Route 537, Jackson, on Oct. 5.

The event will include a U.S. Track and Field certified women's and men's 5-kilometer run, a co-ed 2.5-mile walk and a coed 1-mile walk. There will also be fun runs for children.

The festivities will begin at 8:15 a.m. The race day event registration fee is $30 for adults and $15 for children 10 and under. To pre-register for the race, to sign up to volunteer or for more information, visit www.komencsnj.org or call 609-896- 1201.

"We have accomplished a lot over the past 14 years," said Nancy Healey, executive director of the Komen Central and South Jersey affiliate. "We have raised $17 million, investing $3.3 million to support cutting-edge research and over $10 million has gone into local community breast health education and screening programs."

Komen for the Cure states that it is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to accelerate cures.

Healy said there is still much work to be done.

The two greatest risk factors for breast cancer are being a woman and getting older. Men can also have this form of cancer.

"This is a disease that knows no boundaries," she said. "We are committed to increasing mammograms in order to save lives through early detection."

This year's event is expected to raise $1.8 million.

"The race may be one day in October, but its impact is felt all year long," Healey said. Of the net proceeds from the race, 25 percent will support national breast cancer research programs and the remaining 75 percent will stay in the local community.

This year the affiliate has invested $1.4 million into the local community and hopes to reach 55,000 women with breast cancer screening and education programs.

Rutgers University women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer is the honorary chairwoman for the event. Stringer is a breast cancer survivor.

This is the second year that the event will be held at Six Flags Great Adventure. As part of its support for Komen, Six Flags will offer a half-price regular admission to the theme park on race day to registered race participants and $5 of each admission will be donated back to Komen by Six Flags.

The Central and South Jersey affiliate serves 13 New Jersey counties from Somerset to Cape May.