Cove to Host Komen Race for the Cure

South Bend, IN - The South Bend Silver Hawks are honored to announce that newly renovated Coveleski Stadium will host the Susan G. Komen Northern Indiana Race for the Cure on April 30th, 2011.

Racers will depart from Coveleski Stadium and weave through the streets of downtown South Bend as part of their fundraising efforts. The start and finish line to the event will be on South Street, along the first base side of the Cove. The course will be certified by USA Track and Field.

"We've long been supporters of breast cancer research through our Pink at the Cove games in the past," said Joe Kernan, Team President of the Silver Hawks. "The Komen Race is another big step in showing our support to this worthy cause and we are thrilled to be hosting it in April."

The 2011 races will mark the 28th anniversary of the Race for the Cure, which debuted in 1983 with 800 walkers in Dallas, Texas. According to komen.org, the events are now "the world's largest 5K Run/Walk series with more than 140 Races and 1.6 million people participating on four continents." This will be the 3rd Annual event for Northern Indiana and is expected to draw more than 2500 participants from across Northern Indiana.

Even with the worldwide reach, the race in South Bend has a profound local impact. According to Anita Selesky, the Susan G. Komen Northern Indiana Affiliate Coordinator, "75 percent of the money raised from this race goes toward funding grants to local hospitals and community organizations that provide breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment programs for medically underserved women within the 27 Northern Indiana counties. The remaining 25 percent goes to Komen National for research." Selesky adds that "The event is really a way to celebrate breast cancer survivorship and honor those who have lost their battle with the disease."

The weekend celebration kicks off on Friday, April 29th, with a free concert sponsored by Michiana Hematology Oncology featuring The Whistle Pigs. The concert begins at 7 PM with a special ceremony at dusk to honor survivors and celebrate the global fight against breast cancer.

Racers can register in advance through the Susan G. Komen Northern Indiana webpage at http://komennorthernindiana.org. On-site registration begins the morning of the race at 7 AM, with the race beginning at 9 AM.

For more information, please contact either the South Bend Silver Hawks at (574) 235-9988 or the Komen Affiliate office at (574) 289-9828.