Bolt for the Heart is racing way ahead of schedule.
Founder and board President Pierre Twer said the Thanksgiving morning race is up 30 percent in registrations.
“Last year was a record, so it’s phenomenal,” said Twer, a Carmel resident and vice president for Heart Reach Medical.
The seventh annual Bolt for the Heart 5K Run/Walk is set for 9 a.m. Nov. 22 at the Center Green at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel.
Twer said there were approximately 3,000 runners in the 2017 race. He said that total allowed the nonprofit to buy approximately 100 AEDs, or portable Automated External Defibrillators, which are used to restart someone’s heart in the event of sudden cardiac arrest.
“The growth has been phenomenal, and the community support has been breathtaking,” Twer said. “Everyone has bought into our mission. Because of our sponsor base, 100 percent of registration fees go to buying AEDs.”
The goal for the race is to buy 134 AEDs, which would complete the mission of equipping every Indiana State Police car with an AED.
“That means they’ll have one AED in all 550 police cars in the state,” Twer said.
Twer said the 2019 goal is to put AEDs in all 92 counties in the state. He said Hamilton County needs a few more AEDs to equip all of its police cars.
“Now that we have placed 331 in state trooper cars, we are starting to see lives saved around the state,” Twer said.
Twer said he highly encourages people to register before Nov. 16 to guarantee a shirt or a medal.
As a nonprofit, the registration fee is tax deductible. Donations are tax deductible for those that can’t race that day.
“There is a virtual run where they can run anywhere in the state of Indiana,” Twer said. “If they register for it, it’s $20 and we send them the finisher’s medal and the bib number. They can run it in Michigan City, Fort Wayne or Evansville. We had about 300 people do that last year.”
For more information or to register, visit boltfortheheart.com.
