It's that time of year again, when The Young Lawyers Section asks you to dust off your running shoes, bring out the sunscreen and help us raise awareness and aid in the prevention of skin cancer.
This year's Run for Cover 5K will be 6 p.m. May 11.
The race route will start in Riverside Park located in historic Five Points and continue along the St. Johns River and through its scenic neighborhoods.
To celebrate your finish, the section will host a post-race celebration at Riverside Park for participants and volunteers complete with live music, pizza and cold beverages including beer from Intuition Ale Works.
For those of you unfamiliar with Run for Cover, it is one of several races around the state that are run in memory of Alan C. Sundberg Jr.
Sundberg passed away of skin cancer in 1998 at the young age of 33.
He is the son of former Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan C. Sundberg and the brother of Tallahassee lawyer Bill Sundberg.
In honor of Alan, Bill and others founded the Florida Skin Cancer Foundation. Created in 1996, the Florida Skin Cancer Foundation is dedicated to educating Floridians about the dangers of prolonged exposure to the sun and the importance of early detection.
Skin cancer is the most common and fastest growing type of cancer in the U.S. Each year, nearly 1 million people are diagnosed with skin cancer.
Melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, is the most common form of cancer among people between the ages of 25 and 29. If melanoma is detected and treated early, it is nearly 100 percent curable.
Left undetected and untreated, melanoma can advance and become fatal.
It is estimated that one person dies of melanoma every hour in the U.S. and awareness of this deadly disease is vital to its prevention.
As in years past, free private skin cancer screenings will be offered to everyone — runners, volunteers and spectators — by four local dermatologists from the Jacksonville Dermatology Society before, during and after the race.
We encourage everyone to take advantage of this great opportunity and to learn about how you can guard yourself against skin cancer.
Over the past seven years, dozens of local runners have been helped by the early detection of skin abnormalities as a result of this race.
Please consider joining us in the race against skin cancer and support this worthy cause.
If you are interested in running or walking, you can register at your nearest 1st Place Sports location or online at 1stplacesports.com/cover.html.
In addition to runners, the section is seeking additional sponsors and volunteers for this year's race.
If you are interested in sponsoring or volunteering, please contact Alexandria Hill at [email protected] or Renée Maxey at [email protected].
We hope to host a successful 5K race for the community and bring awareness of skin cancer to an even greater number of local racers and community members, but we need your support to make that success a reality.
All sponsors of the Run for Cover 5K will be recognized for their contribution.
As a sponsor, your company name or logo will be printed on the official race T-shirts given to all race runners and volunteers.
The bigger the sponsorship, the larger your company name will appear on the official race T-shirt. In addition, you will have the opportunity to distribute fliers, coupons or souvenirs in the race packets as well as promote your company at the race itself.
The Young Lawyers Section would like to thank you for your continued support of the organization and its charitable events. We look forward to seeing you on the course!