The women-only Run Like A Girl 8K Series chooses the HERA Women’s Cancer Foundation as beneficiary for its 2009 trail running series. The event will travel to seven cities to bring women together to run, jog or walk for a cure. The first race will kick off at 9 a.m. on May 31 at Pocahontas State Park, Richmond, Virginia, and is sponsored by Blue Ridge Mountains Sports, Montrail and Victory Ladies Fitness. The event is limited to 1000 participants. Registration costs $30, and participants can register online at http://www.runlikeagirl8k.com.

A total of $4 from each participant that registers will be donated to the HERA Foundation. In addition, participants of the race are encouraged to do personal fundraising for the HERA Foundation and can register at http://www.runlikeagirlva09.kintera.org to set up a personal fundraising homepage. The public can also make a general donation in the memory of HERA Foundation founder Sean Patrick, who in January 2009 died of complications related to ovarian cancer.

Money raised from the event will go to support the HERA OSB1 grant, a seed grant for research on early detection, better treatment and prevention of ovarian cancer. Donations can be made at http://www.heradonationsinhonerofSeanPatrick.kintera.org.

Motivated by his family’s history with cancer, race director Mark Junkerman says, “This disease has deeply affected my family and so many families around the world.  We are very pleased to be working with the HERA Foundation to help find a cure for ovarian cancer.” He adds, “We hope that through our event, the participants will help spread awareness of ovarian cancer, and help save women’s lives.”

“HERA is honored to the beneficiary of the 2009 Run Like a Girl 8K race series. While being personally touched by cancer can be devastating, Mark and his team are an example of how we can use that experience and empower ourselves and others to make a difference in the world,” says Lisa Carmichael, the interim executive director of the HERA Foundation. Carmichael is a longtime friend of HERA founder Sean Patrick who stepped to the helm of the organization in January. 

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), ovarian cancer occurs in one in 72 women. Currently, there is no reliable method of early detection, such as the mammogram for breast cancer. Funding scientific research is therefore vital in decreasing the number of lives lost. The NCI reports that 67 percent of cases are diagnosed after the cancer has already metastasized, when the five-year survival rate is only 30.6 percent.