Since 2001, Lee University has partnered with Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to host a Great Strides walk event as well as the 65 Roses 5k. The event will be returning for its 22nd year this Saturday, March 25, throughout Lee University’s campus.
“This is a fun event that includes both community and our campus, and it’s for a great cause!,” said Vanessa Hammond who has been part of the event from the beginning. Her son, Will, was diagnosed with C. F. in 1998 when the disease was deemed a rare disease with a very short life expectancy.
Through events like Great Strides across the nation, the C.F. Foundation has raised close to $1.25 million to fund research. Since the recent scientific breakthrough in 2020 with a medication called Trikafta, the life expectancy of patients with C.F. s has extended from mid 20s to to mid 50s. The medication treats the disease at a cellular level, and makes living with Cystic Fibrosis a lot more manageable. Numbers of survivors have skyrocketed to 30,000 to 40,000.
Now Lee University is in an all out effort to join the C.F. Foundation in their “Driven by a Dream” cause, that seeks to find a one-time cure for C.F. to make it a chronic disease rather than life-threatening one. Alex Staup, a contributing member of the team of Lee faculty and staff that plans Great Strides, said the university is committed, “until C.F. stands for ‘Cure Found.”
Brad Moffett, chair of the steering committee for the event, called it a “family event for all of Lee.” The committee is expecting to host 350 to 500 runners on the campus along with multiple student and faculty runners/walkers and volunteers. Mixed in the pack of 50 plus student volunteers, including students from the Bowdle O’Bannon Hall who will lead ‘fun stretches’ before the race starts in the morning.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for students to ‘walk the talk’ of redemptive service,” Staup said.
The 5k race/walk will begin at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning and the 1K ‘Fun Run’ will begin at 9:30 a.m.. Free coffee and bagels will be available for runners from 7:30 a.m. to the start of each race, also appearances from the Chick-fl-a cow and baby cow. The 65 Roses race will serve as an officially timed race, while the fun run serves as a fun way to contribute to the cause. The race will begin in front of the Humanities building on campus and end on 11th street in front of the Paul Conn Student Union.
Tera Running Company is holding early registration at their location downtown starting at 11:00 a.m. Friday, March 24, until about 6:00 p.m. that evening. Runners can also register on site in the morning in front of the Humanities building at 7:30 a.m.
