It’s been a while since I posted, but I have an event coming up this weekend that I thought was worthy of a return from my blogging hiatus.
This coming Sunday, I’m running the Bloomsday 12k in Spokane, Washington. For those of you not familiar with this event, Bloomsday is a huge local tradition consisting of celebrations throughout Spokane, culminating in a 12k (7.46 mile) run through the city. About 60,000 runners participate each year. I ran my first Bloomsday last year and it's a lot of fun.
Running this event has always been a special event for my husband and my in-laws and this year we wanted to make it extra special and run it in remembrance of my father-in-law, Ron, who lost his battle with melanoma in 2008. We formed a team with Miles for Melanoma: Ron’s Runners. So far we’ve already raised more than $600 benefiting Melanoma Research Foundation. If you happen to be from Spokane and are on the course on race day watch for us in our bright green Ron’s Runners t-shirts!
Some sobering facts about melanoma:
- Skin cancer is the most common form a cancer in the US and melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer.
- One-in-50 Americans has a lifetime risk of developing melanoma.
- Every 8 minutes, someone in the US is diagnosed with melanoma. Every hour someone dies from the disease.
- Use of a tanning bed before the age of 30 can increase risk of melanoma by 75%.
- Marathon runners can be at a higher risk for melanoma.
For more information visit Melanoma Research Foundation. Click here to donate to my fundraising team.
And remember! Wear sun screen, get regular checks at the dermatologist, and, please, stay out of tanning beds!
Statistic Sources
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/21/health/21baka.html
http://www.melanoma.org/learn-more/melanoma-101/melanoma-statistics-facts
