Silver jubilee: 25th annual breast cancer 5K fundraiser set for Sunday

Published 7:30 am Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Runners, walkers and volunteers are limbering up for Sunday’s 2024 Heaven Can Wait 5K, set to take off on Oct. 6 at 10:30 a.m. at Redmond High School.

Fundraiser enthusiasts may still sign up on the St. Charles Health System website. Same day registration and packet pick up starts at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday.

The 2024 edition of the event will celebrate 25 years of raising funds to fight breast cancer, said Jenny O’Bryan, executive director of the St. Charles Foundation that hosts the event.

According to the St. Charles Health System website, more than $100,000 is raised at the event each year.

This year, organizers hope to raise an additional $25,000 to celebrate the 25th anniversary. According to O’Bryan, those dollars will supply free wigs, post-surgical bras, transportation, education of early detection and massage therapy to patients fighting cancer.

Since it’s inception, the fundraiser has brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars for Sara’s Project, an organization providing care to breast cancer patients in Central Oregon.

O’Bryan also said there will be extra amenities this year to “raise the bar for support.” Event t-shirts are new and survivors will receive a commemorative pin. A hat is offered for those attending the run for the first time.

Those who have registered for the run will also get a custom Heaven Can Wait race bib, a chip-timed run, breakfast burrito and free drinks from Bigfoot Beverages, Eberhard’s Dairy and Sisters Coffee. The 5k will begin at the Redmond High track and its path will run through Dry Canyon.