FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Beth Llewellyn, CEO
Jennifer Stucker, Director of Development and Communications/Race Director
Telephone: Health Care Access – 785.856.1672
10th Annual Kansas Half Marathon/5k will take place on Sunday, November 5 in Lawrence
Race benefits local safety net clinic
Thursday, September 7, 2017 – The Kansas Half Marathon/5k, an event that is organized by Health Care Access, was created to raise funds for its mission to provide health care to those in Douglas County with limited financial means, no comprehensive health insurance and that otherwise do not have a primary care home.
In its 10th year, the race will take place on Sunday, November 5, 2017, at Watson Park. The half marathon begins at 7:30 a.m., with the 5k starting at 7:45 a.m. For more information or to register for the race you can visit www.kansashalfmarathon.com. Runners that are registered receive a t-shirt, sunflower medal and post-race food donated by HyVee. The sunflower medal that will be given to all finishers of the race was designed by Lily Fisher from Lawrence. Fisher’s design was selected as the winner of a contest for elementary students that took place earlier in the year.
The half marathon route will take runners through downtown Lawrence, then east before heading over the Kansas River Bridge and exploring North Lawrence. Both the half and 5k routes finish on 7th Street between Tennessee and Kentucky.
“In a time of so much uncertainty around health care insurance, you can be certain of one thing, this race is our largest fundraising event to provide a primary care health home for the uninsured,” said Beth Llewellyn, CEO of HCA. “Bring your personal best and participate this year. We are going to order up good weather for runners, their support crew and volunteers.”
“This event has been fun to plan. It’s been great seeing all the registrations come in from all over the United States. It’s also wonderful to see how much support and love we get from our community and businesses,” said Jennifer Stucker, Director of Development and Communications for HCA and also the Race Director. “This event takes a year to plan and has a lot of elements such as coordinating with the City of Lawrence, who have been so great to work with, to figuring out the best routes for our runners with our RaceDay crew.” Stucker said the biggest change this year for the half marathon runners is not having them go out and back on the levee. “We got feedback from our runners last year and that was a key issue for them,” she said. “In order for us to build on this race, we need to continue to make improvements, and we believe this is a positive change.”
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Health Care Access is a non-profit organization that serves as a welcoming health home in Douglas County for persons with limited financial means. HCA creates access to a continuum of community-based services to promote health and well-being. Through an active collaborative spirit we advocate for health people and communities.
