Kortney Challenge 2-Mile Run/Walk Scheduled for Aug. 11

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OCEANPORT – The Kort­ney Rose Foundation (KRF) will hosts its 8th annual Kortney’s Challenge Two Mile Fun Run/ Walk on Sunday, Aug. 11, at Monmouth Park Racetrack. The event will be held rain or shine.
The foundation’s signature family event, sponsored by Les Friedland Associates, LTD. and Monmouth Park, raises funds for research and treatment of pediatric brain tumors, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children 20 and under.
Kortney’s Challenge is a fun day for the whole family. In addition to the race, there are free kids’ activities, including crafts, pony rides, face painting, bouncer and more. All children will receive a medal, and all participants receive a free goody bag full of donated items. Prizes will be awarded to the top three girl- and boy-finishers (age 12 and younger) and the top three men and women (age 13 and older).
Race-day registration and T-shirt and bag pick up begin at 8:30 a.m. There will be a Dance Plus Performance Team Exhibi­tion at 9 a.m. The race starts at 10 a.m.
After the race, participants can join in for a day at the races in a KRF-designated picnic area in conjunction with the Ocean­port Police­men’s Benevolent Associ­ation. Kids under 12 are free, and picnic tickets for participants of Kortney’s Chal­lenge are only $20 for food, beverage, race program and a full day of horse races. Sup­porters 12 and older who not participating in the race can purchase tickets for $25.
Additional information, tickets and links to preregistration are available at www.thekortneyrosefoundation.org. Also avail­able for download are entry forms for mail-in registration and pledge forms. Runners who pre-register will save $5 and be guaranteed a T-shirt.
In addition to raising money for the foundation’s mission, all of the miles walked by participants in Kortney’s Challenge will be donated to The Inter­national Brain Tumor Alliance’s (IBTA) Walk Around the World for Brain Tumors, a London-based alliance supporting brain tumor advocacy groups www.ibta.org.
“Every year we’ve welcomed more families to this rewarding event at a superb venue,” said Kristen Gillette, Kortney’s mom and the KRF president. “With the number of new cases of pediatric brain tumors in 2013 estimated at 12.8 per day, support from our extended community is more crucial than ever.”
Kortney Rose Gillette was a vivacious 9-year-old girl with a winning smile and unparalleled zest for life. She loved playing with friends and animals and enjoyed school at Wolf Hill Elementary School in Ocean­port. This didn’t change even after her diagnosis of a terminal brainstem glioma. On April 27, 2006, four months after her diagnosis, Kortney lost her brave battle with this pediatric brain cancer.
To celebrate Kortney’s love of life, the inaugural “Kortney’s Challenge was held in Septem­ber 2006. More than 500 people participated and helped to raise money that was used to build Kortney’s Playground at Wolf Hill Elementary School where Kortney was a third grader. In 2007, The Kortney Rose Foun­dation (KRF) was incorporated as a 501(c)(3)to raise money for pediatric brain cancer research and awareness. The foundation has donated more than $600,000 in the past six years, to the pediatric brain tumor research program at the No. 1 children’s hospital in the nation, the Chil­dren’s Hospital of Philadel­phia (CHOP). Dona­tions from KRF are used in CHOP’s world class Childhood Brain Tumor Tissue Consort­ium which collects bio specimens reflecting the molecular diversity of all pediatric brain tumors and in the Large-Scale Genomics Pro­ject that hunts down the genes behind brain tumors with the goals of using this gene knowledge to guide therapy, devise new tests and treatments.
The Two River Times™ is a sponsor of the The Kortney Rose Foundation’s 8th annual Kortney’s Challenge Two Mile Fun Run/Walk.