For Plainsboro resident Jennifer Park, her second year of participation with the Run for Dad event taking place in Mercer County Park on Sunday, June 15, is just one of the many causes that she supports.##M:[more]##
The morning includes a 5K run, a two-mile walk, and the Kids Run for Dad, a shorter race for kids, to raise awareness about prostate cancer and to raise money for research.
Park, pictured at right, a regular volunteer with the American Cancer Society, will be participating for her second year, but running for her first time in this event. Last year, she says, she volunteered to help with the event, but was so exhausted from that work that she didn’t run. This year, she is determined to do both.
But the Run for Dad race is not the first she’s done. Park has several family members who are being treated for cancer, including her mother, who is a breast cancer survivor. And to support that cause, she is also one of the team captains in one of the American Cancer Society’s other events, a breast cancer walk.
“I enjoy volunteering with the American Cancer Society,” she says. “I really believe in what they do.” Prostate cancer is also an issue that hits close to home for Park, who says she recently found out there may be a chance one of her neighbors may have the disease. Park, whose parents were teachers in Old Bridge, moved to Plainsboro about two years ago with her husband because of the township’s equidistant location to their jobs.
“It’s such a fun race,” she says of the Run for Dad. “You don’t have to be an avid runner. I think it would be wonderful to have more people support the cause.”
Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. and is over at 9 a.m. The run and walk both begin at 9 a.m., and are finished by 9:45 a.m. This is followed by the children’s race, and by 10 or 10:15 a.m., everyone can go home and barbecue, he says. The event also features a face painter, clown, and craft table where children can make gifts for their fathers. To register to participate, or to donate, log on to https://community.acsevents.org/runfordadNJ.
Run for Dad, Mercer County Park. American Cancer Society, 609-895-0867, https://community.acsevents.org/runfordadNJ.
— Cara Latham
