FIESTA 5K/15K CHALLENGE RAISES $36,000 FOR EMORY ALS CENTER

Cumming, GA, May 2, 2016– In perfect weather conditions, 650 participants gathered to #runLOCO4ALS at the 10th Annual FIESTA 5k/15k Challenge on Saturday. The event, which brought runners and walkers from all across Georgia and the southeast, took place at Fowler Park in Cumming, GA and raised $36,000 for the Emory ALS Center.

The 15k and 5k distance races began on the track at Fowler Park and participants then made their way to the beautiful Big Creek Greenway. All runners and walkers enjoyed the peaceful setting in this pretty area maintained by the Forsyth County Parks & Recreation Department. Byron Grogan won the 15k distance for the second year in a row, and Lauren Duisberg was the overall winner for the women. In the 5k distance the overall winners were Brandon Burt and Sara Morrison. There was also a Fun Run where young children ran up to four laps on the track, smiling the entire way.

Sponsors for the event included Control Southern, Inc., Habersham Funding, ADVA Optical Networking, Acapella-Design, Andean Chevrolet, Tofutti, MECO of Atlanta, North GA Running Co., and Sign Kwik. 1st Choice Sports Rehab, Inspire Chiropractic, HisGrip Homecare, Modern Woodmen of America, and Orange Theory Fitness were all on hand to interact with the participants and spectators before and after the race.

May is ALS Awareness Month and the nonprofit organization, Cure for ALS, hosts the FIESTA 5k/15k Challenge each year to begin the month long advocacy campaign. ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is a universally fatal neuromuscular disease that can strike anyone without warning. The average life span after diagnosis is only 2-5 years. It takes away the ability to move, speak, swallow, and ultimately breathe. There are approximately 30,000 people in the U.S. are living with ALS; over 500 are in Georgia.

The Emory ALS Center is one of the largest clinical centers for ALS in the United States. The team of neurologists, neurosurgeons, nurses, therapists, and dieticians care for both the physical and emotional needs of patients and their families, while scientists and researchers work in the laboratory to discover how to stop the disease. The focus is on independence and quality of life through state-of-the-art intervention. For more information about the Emory ALS Center visit www.als.emory.edu.

The next event for Cure for ALS is the Terance Mathis Celebrity Golf Classic which will be held on Monday, September 19, 2016 at St. Marlo Country Club. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Emory ALS Center.