On June 8, the ninth annual Head for the Cure 5K walk/run will be held at West Park in Carmel.
The run was initially organized by the Sapper family to honor their deceased father who died in March of 2004.
“It originally started as my sister’s idea,” said Michael Sapper, son of Theodore Sapper, for whom the race is run. “It’s evolved into the biggest brain tumor event in the state.”
The run raises awareness as well as funds for the American Brain Tumor Association. The group has donated $191,350 throughout the past nine years, due to the generosity of many sponsors.
The race is not only to raise money, though. It becomes a kind of support group for people who have survived brain tumors.
“Every year, there’s new stories and a new thing to hear about, and that’s why I want to keep having it,” Sapper said.
The run is filled with people who are passionate about brain tumor research or who have lost someone to a brain tumor.
“Last year, there was a friend of mine whom I used to work with years ago who came down with a brain tumor and a big team of maybe 60 people, called Team Dave came down and celebrated his treatment,” Sapper said. “He passed away last year, so now his daughters are bringing another team out to celebrate his memory.”
The money that is donated goes completely to research, not awareness-raising, not administrative expenses. The funds go directly to research on brain tumors and different cures for them.
Registration for the race is still available online at www.braincure.org, as well as other information about previous races. Sponsor registration is also still available if you are unable to make it to the run or participate. The group also accepts in-kind donations such as water bottles or food because every donation like that reduces the amount of funds they have to spend putting on the event and maximizes the check they can write to the American Brain Tumor Association.