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Community Corner

Undy 5000 Sees Growth In Second Year

Racers participated to raise funds for colon cancer awareness

Normally when people wear their underwear outside their clothing, it could mean one of many things. Maybe it’s opposite day, maybe you are a superhero, maybe you got dressed in the dark, and maybe you are Lady Gaga. However on Saturday morning, hundreds of people donned their underwear outside their clothing for a great cause.

At 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, the second annual Undy 5000 5k Run was held along the boardwalk in Long Branch. The race was organized by the Colon Cancer Alliance, a national patient advocacy organization working to end colon cancer. Locally, a portion of the proceeds from this race went to the Riverview Medical Center.

Since it was a race to support colon cancer, organizers thought it would be fun to have the runners taking part in this event wear underwear outside their clothing as a means to promote colon cancer awareness.

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Along with the 5k run, there was also a one-mile fun run for children to participate in. The cost of the race was $30 in advance for adults, and $40 to register on the day of the race. Rather than receive commemorative t-shirts, in keeping in theme of the race, all runners received commemorative boxer shorts.

One of the lead organizers of this event was Erin Ehrlich, who works at the national Colon Cancer Alliance headquarters in Washington DC. She noted close to 700 individuals were participating in this event, and she was thrilled with this years turnout.

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“Last year we had about 400 people participate, so I was glad we were able to get the word out about this event,” she said, adding proceeds that go to the Riverview Medical Center will go to help screen low-income residents for colon cancer.

When asked why the racers were wearing underwear outside their outfits, Ehrlich responded that it was a great way to get the word out about colon cancer.

“It’s a bit of a tongue and cheek reference,” she said. “Seriously though, it does get people talking, and it’s a fun way to get people involved in this race.”

There were 31 teams of racers participating in this run. The biggest team consisted of members of Team Lili, with over 100 people on the team. They raised nearly $9,000 for this event.

This team is named for Lisa Halikias, who was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. Marcy Schaefer, of Rumson, a family friend of Halikias, said she was thrilled to be on Team Lili, and was happy to take part in this race.

“Our entire family is taking part of this race, and we are real excited to be running in this event,” she said. 

Along with many New Jersey residents, there was a great deal of participants from all over the United States. Many members of Team Rich came from Illinois and North Carolina to participate.

Team Rich was made up of 31 individuals running for Rich Conklin, who ran in this race last year, but passed away in January of 2011 from his battle with colon cancer. His brother, Mike Conklin, noted the entire family was happy to take part in this run and commemorate their fallen family member who passed from the disease.

Another team participating were the Beach Bums, who ran 31 individuals deep. Henry O’Hern of Rumson, who led the group, noted it was the second year he was running in this race, and was thrilled with the turnout.

“This is great. Everyone is into it, and we’re all in good spirits,” he said.

One team that made their presence known throughout the race were Jersey Girls StayStrong, with its 12 members all wearing leopard print underwear outside of their running shorts.

Elizabeth Miklus, of Belmar, noted this event is great in raising awareness for colon cancer, and though there is an embarrassing stigma about this disease, she was hopeful this Undy 5000 would help shed some light on the disease.

“This really is a unique race, and it is for an awesome cause,” she said.

Kris Rovell of Red Bank, who led this group, noted she also was amazed by the turnout of this 5k, and was hopeful many people who attended this race would now get screened for colon cancer.

Helping put this race together was Todd Setter, the Undy 5000 Event Director. Setter said not only was he thrilled with the turnout, but also he was also thankful to the community of Long Branch for being so helpful with this race.

He said the Long Branch Fire Department was very helpful by turning on their hose and spraying it over the runners as a means to cool them off during the hot run, and he was thankful as well to all the volunteers, who doubled up the amount of water tables throughout the race so runners could stay hydrated.

Setter concluded by noting how important this organization is to him, since his father passed away from a battle with colon cancer, and he was amazed by how many people were affected by this disease as well.

“We have 14 colon cancer survivors competing in the race this year,” he said. “Everyone here though has an incredible support system, and we are so happy having everyone come out to compete in this race.”

Results of the Undy 5000 5k will soon be transferred online to www.raceforum.com. For more information on this event, or for more information on the Colon Cancer Alliance, please visit www.undy5000.org.

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