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Komen Race for the Cure, on a Saturday? What’s up with that?

Manchester, VT – This year’s Komen Vermont-New Hampshire Race for the Cure features a host of new initiatives, challenges and changes, starting with the day of the race itself. This year’s race, on Saturday, July 17, at Hildene Meadows in Manchester, Vermont, will be the first race held on a Saturday.

“Why did we switch from Sunday to Saturday? It’s a combination of calculated risk and educated guess,” says Vermont-New Hampshire Affiliate Race Chair, Becky Burke. “The first race, in ’93, was held on a Sunday to coincide with the final round of the LPGA Tournament, which was at Stratton that year. It was a success, so the Sunday thing stuck.”

“Our numbers rose steadily over the years,” says Burke. “It wasn’t broke, so why fix it? For whatever reason – we really don’t know what – the numbers have been falling over the past four years or so. Is it the day? Who knows, but we did do some research and found that of all of the Komen races in the country, 75% of them are held on Saturdays. So, we thought, let’s change it up and give it a shot. We can always switch it back next year.”

Through events like the Komen VT-NH Race for the Cure, the VT-NH Affiliate has netted more than $6.7 million in 18 years. Of that, more than $1.7 million supported Komen’s research program and more than $5 million underwrote breast cancer education, screening and treatment in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Get more information, volunteer and register for this year’s Race – which takes place at Hildene Meadows, in Manchester, Vermont, on Saturday, July 17 – at www.vtnhkomen.org. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.