The third-annual Susan G. Komen Athens Race for the Cure will take place on Sunday, Oct. 15. Registration will begin at 10 a.m. at the Walter Fieldhouse at Ohio University; the Race begins at 12 p.m.

Participants can register to run or walk a 5K with family and friends, start a team, fundraise, volunteer or even become a sponsor of the Race.

An estimated 1,900 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in Southeastern Ohio this year.

The Athens Race for the Cure brings awareness to the community programs and solutions Komen has built with partners in this specific region, such as patient navigation and education and help for underinsured or those with expensive co-pays.

The Athens Race for the Cure will support programs specific to the 18 counties in the southeastern Ohio region: Athens, Vinton, Washington, Jackson, Morgan, Perry, Meigs, Gallia, Noble, Hocking, Scioto, Pike, Ross, Fairfield, Muskingum, Guernsey, Monroe and Lawrence. This group of counties has a higher breast cancer death rate than the rest of the country.

All of the proceeds from the Komen Athens Race are used to fight breast cancer, and 75 percent of the proceeds stay in the community. So far, the 2017 Komen Athens Race for the Cure® has raised 13 percent ($8,094) of their $55,000 goal for individual fundraising. Participants are encouraged to fundraise above and beyond their registration fee.

Last year, Komen Athens Race for the Cure attracted an estimated 1,300 participants and 200 volunteers, raising more than $100,000 to fund local breast health programs in Komen Columbus’ 30-county service area and bolster global breast cancer research. In addition to raising funds, the Komen Athens Race also celebrates breast cancer survivors and honors the people who lost their battle with the disease.

Komen Columbus funds research to find cures and treatments and makes sure this region of Ohio gets access to those advances through local programming. The years of participation and support has enabled Komen Columbus to fund a new mobile mammography unit, which will exclusively serve the southeast Ohio area.

Since 2000, Komen Columbus has funded more than $6.7 million in programs for this region.

The School of Nursing in the College of Health Sciences and Professions is designated as Local Presenting Sponsor and Pink Glove Partner and the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine is a Gold Sponsor. In addition, medical and nursing students will be working together in the first aid areas.

Once again this year, the College of Health Sciences and Professions and the Heritage College have created Komen Race fundraising teams: CHSP’s “Ohio University CHSP” and the Heritage College’s “Passionate Soles for a Cure.”

To donate, register or join a team, visit the websites for CHSP’s team, the Heritage College’s team or the School of Nursing Class of 2018 team.