Annual 5K Run Will Raise Money for Cancer Research

The annual Born to Run charity race will be held on Sunday, Aug. 18.

The 5-kilometer run and walk is held in memory of Wayne resident Bruce Eckrote and has raised nearly $40,000 in its first three years of existence. Money is donated to a local family in need and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Additionally, money funds two scholarships for local high school students, one each at Wayne Valley and Wayne Hills.

The run is held in memory of Bruce Eckrote, a former Wayne resident who died of esophageal cancer in 2009. He was 55. He was diagnosed with the disease just five weeks before he died.

Eckrote’s family, including his son Dan, started the event four years ago.

“He was always a happy, upbeat guy. I very rarely saw him upset,” Eckrote’s son Dan said of his father before last year’s run was held. “He always had a positive outlook on life. It’s great that we can help other people in my dad’s name.”

Pre-registration costs $20 if done before Aug. 18, $25 afterwards. The run is held in the Packanack Lake section of town.

For more information, visit borntorun5k.com.

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