Crush Childhood Cancer with Fitness Together

Even as an annual bloom of pink ribbons, pink athletic equipment, pink newspapers and the like has established breast cancer as an October calendar item on par with Columbus Day and Halloween, advocates combating other cancers continue to fight an uphill battle for awareness of their cause.

Which, of course, brings us to Facebook.

It was there, on the social network, that Kerri Powers got caught up in her new cause: Childhood Cancer.

“Since I had kids, I discovered pediatric cancer on Facebook, of all places,” said Powers, a mother of two and owner of Fitness Together in Lexington. “And I was actually surprised, and disappointed really, that nobody really talks about it at all.”

And so using Fitness Together as a launching pad, Powers has organized “Crushing Cancer 4 Kids,” a 5K run-walk to support Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a foundation that grew out of an actual lemonade stand started in 2000 by Alexandra “Alex” Scott, who died four years later but lent her name to the national fundraising movement.

The Crushing Cancer 4 Kids 5K will be held Saturday, Sept. 14 in Lexington Center. The idea is to establish the 5K as an annual event, while also supplementing existing efforts of Alex’s Lemonade Stand during September, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

According to Powers, the 5K is being hosted by Fitness Together  and the Greater Boston Running Company in an effort to raise both funds and, as importantly, awareness for the fight against childhood cancer.

“It’s like nobody ever talks about it,” said Powers. “Nobody ever talks about childhood cancer except for the families who are dealing with it. It’s almost like it’s too sad to talk about, but if nobody’s talking about it, nothing is going to change.”

The 5K run/walk will begin at the Battle Green and wind its way through town along a course with a few challenging hills, according to Powers, who aims to attract everyone from young families to serious runners training for fall marathons. To that end, the event has been certified by USA Track and Field, and will employ a timing company.

“We did want to entice avid runners,” said Powers. “And we wanted people to be able to do it if they have a child who they’re pushing in a carriage.”

For more information about the Crushing Cancer 4 Kids 5K or to register, drop by the Fitness Together website.