Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset Hosts 9th Annual Steeplechase Distance Run on September 24

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, will host its 9th Annual Steeplechase Distance Run on September 24. The event features a 10K run, 5K run, 2-mile walk and kids’ sprints. All proceeds from the race benefit the Steeplechase Cancer Center at RWJUH Somerset. The event is presented by lead sponsors Care One at Somerset Valley, Colin Failey, MD of the Peer Group and Physicians for the Cure.

“This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Steeplechase Cancer Center and The Steeplechase Distance Run has played a key role in raising awareness of and enhancing the cancer care services that the Center has provided our community for the past decade,” says Cynthia Lee, MD, FACS, a surgeon at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset and an avid runner who founded the event. “The event helps raise funds that allow us to provide patients and community members with the services they need to live longer and healthier lives.”

Erica Voss of Bridgewater will kick off the Distance Run as one of this year’s race Ambassadors. Voss ran as a participant in last year’s 5K. This year, Voss’ participation will mark another personal milestone – two years post-diagnosis with lymphoma. Voss received intensive chemotherapy treatment at the Steeplechase Cancer Center for five days at a time over the course of six weeks. She is eager to try to run the 10K course this year.

“With the Steeplechase Cancer Center, I always felt like I had the best people treating me,” says Voss. “They have such a variety of services offered so I was able to get all my treatment and services within the one hospital. The doctors know each other and the sense of community is incredibly comforting and makes for better care. I am thrilled to participate in this year’s run as a race Ambassador and to show that the Steeplechase Cancer Center is a place of hope and healing.”

The Steeplechase Distance Run begins and ends at Amsterdam Elementary School in Hillsborough. The 10K run includes a flat and rolling course running through the scenic neighborhoods and landscapes of Hillsborough. The run features start mats, mile clocks and energy stations and is considered a challenging test of speed and endurance. The event also includes a 5K Run/Walk and a 2-mile walk. Children age two to eleven are encouraged to participate in Kids’ Sprints, a 25-100-yard run designed for children. Each child will receive a ribbon for completing the walk. All runs are USA Track and Field (USATF) certified.

Registration is now open at www.steeplechasedistancerun.com. Registration for the 10K Run, 5K Run and 2 Mile Walk is $30 until September 19. After September 19, registration fees are $33 for all entries and $10 for the Kids’ Sprints. Participants may also register on race day. Check-in and registration for the Steeplechase Distance Run/Walk will begin at 7:30 a.m. The 10K race begins at 8:45 a.m. followed by the 5K race at 9:30 a.m. and the Kids’ Sprints at 10:45 a.m. An awards ceremony for the 10K race will begin at 10:15 a.m., followed by an awards ceremony for the 5K race at 11:00 a.m. The event will be held rain or shine.

The Steeplechase Distance Run is organized by Somerset Health Care Foundation, which raises funds for RWJUH Somerset. All proceeds from the event will benefit educational programs for patients and the community at The Steeplechase Cancer Center at RWJUH Somerset. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, The Steeplechase Cancer Center enables Central New Jersey cancer patients to see their doctors, undergo outpatient treatment and participate in promising cancer research studies – all in one place close to home. The three-story, 63,000-square-foot facility, which opened in 2007, houses radiation therapy services, infusion therapy, breast imaging services, the hospital’s research team, oncologists’ and surgeons’ offices, nutritional counseling, patient navigator services, a patient resource library, the Sanofi US Wellness Boutique and complementary medicine services, such as yoga, t’ai chi, meditation and massage. The Sanofi US Breast Care Program is one of only a select few in New Jersey to achieve full accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers and has also been named a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology.

The Steeplechase Cancer Center is nationally accredited by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, demonstrating its commitment to meet the highest standards for comprehensive, high-quality, multidisciplinary patient-centered care.

To learn more about RWJUH, please visit www.rwjbh.org/somerset. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rwjsomerset and Facebook at www.facebook.com/rwjsomerset.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset

Located in Somerville, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, is a nationally accredited, 361-bed regional hospital providing comprehensive emergency, medical/surgical, behavioral health and rehabilitative services to central New Jersey residents. As a designated teaching hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the hospital maintains a family medicine residency program with 21 residents.

RWJUH Somerset has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety including the prestigious Magnet® Award for Nursing Excellence and an “A” Hospital Safety Score from the Leapfrog Group. As the first hospital in New Jersey to offer primary health care services for the LGBTQIA community, RWJUH Somerset has been honored as a Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign.

The Steeplechase Cancer at RWJUH Somerset, a clinical research affiliate of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, has been designated as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer.