Tag Archives: race

Running for a cause

The charity 5k has exploded in the last decade with races popping up all over to support a designated charity. Cancer organizations have seen a big boost from those, and according to Running in the USA there are almost 500 5k races in the state of Iowa each year!

Are you a runner or a walker? Either one it doesn’t really matter as the goal is to get people signed up and moving towards the finish line.

There’s a few cancer related charities that have races coming up in the next few months and if you want to be a runner now is the perfect time to start training as the weather heats up.

Here are a few (and sorry if we missed your race) races that will be happening this summer in the Quad Cities area:

Relay for Life – Iowa Cancer Specialists happily sponsors the Quad Cities Relay for Life that is just two weeks away! The event from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. will feature cancer survivors and community members raising money. While not a 5k, this event goes towards raising money for the American Cancer Society.

Carol M. Guthrie Memorial 5K Run/Walk – The Carol M. Gurthrie Memorial 5k will be taking place in Anawan, Illinois this year and will proceeds will benefit the Samuels family. The Samuels have a 6-year-old daughter with Leukemia and the money will go towards helping that family.

Walk Out Cancer – The 5k and kids fun run will take place in Savanna, Illinois (just a hour drive from the Quad Cities) on September 16. The race costs $20 with funds going towards the American Cancer Society. This one is a bit away so it’ll give you time to get your conditioning up!

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure – This one is just over a month away on June 10th and raises money for the Komen foundation. Their website states they have raised nearly $20,000 towards their $100,000 goal this year. You can participate as an individual or get some people together to raise money!

So now that you’ve registered for a race you need a plan to get yourself in gear and in shape before the race. If you’re an inexperienced runner the Couch to 5k program is an easy way to slip into running a 5k, search the App Store on your phone and there will be plenty of apps to choose from as you start.

If you already consider yourself fit, a fun way to keep that way is the Zombies, Run! App that can be downloaded on either Apple or Android phones. Here is a link to their website where it explains that with 200 missions to choose from you’ll always have something new to work with. The jist of the game is that it will guide you through periods of fast and slow as the storyline changes.

Good luck!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is here and along with it comes one of the biggest fundraising blitzes for breast cancer charities.

Designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and signified by a pink ribbon, the month in recent years has become hugely commercialized with everyone from the NFL to food manufacturers taking notice.

This post will go over some of the highest rated cancer charities as well as one local Quad City charity for women both in Iowa and Illinois looking for information on breast cancer resources.

Choosing a charity to donate your money to can be hard, the concern if your money is being spent wisely or given to large administration salaries is a valid one, so what can you do to make sure the charities you donate to are heading in the right direction?

Charity Navigator, a non-profit that looks at the financial reporting of charities and their transparency has rated breast cancer charities in few areas, namely breast cancer research, breast cancer support and breast cancer public awareness. Below is a list of some rated charities from Charity Navigator and a brief description of what they do.

  • Living Beyond Breast Cancer (4-star) — a breast cancer education and public awareness charity focused on finding support for a range of people including those recently diagnosed, in treatment, or in survivorship. They received a score of 99.7 from Charity Navigator, the highest awarded and around 84% of their expenses go to services and programs related to breast cancer awareness/education.
  • Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation (4-star) — a California based research foundation that aims to do research looking at the causes of breast cancer. Their key projects include long-term international studies of populations, advanced imaging and analysis of breast ducts, and providing information on their research via educational materials.
  • Susan G. Komen for the Cure (3-star) — One of the most well known breast cancer charities, their aim is to provide funding locally for breast health. The Quad Cities branch of the charity serves both Iowa and Illinois and provides local grants for mammograms and other health services.

Are you running a race for charity or have another charity not listed you donate to? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook what you plan on doing during breast cancer awareness month.