Aroostook County  -  A family fun run/walk event coming to Presque Isle on Saturday, November 1, will get folks active with some festive fall fun all the while supporting a good cause.

The first-ever Monster Dash Aroostook 5k and accompanying Little Monsters Fun Run is a Halloween-themed event that will start and end at TAMC’s A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital on Academy Street in Presque Isle.  Proceeds will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help find a cure for blood cancers.

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“This is the perfect event for adults and kids who might want to get a little more ‘mileage’ out of their great Halloween costume or maybe want to burn off some of the trick-or-treating calories from the night before,” said Sarah Caron, organizer and race director for both the adult and children’s run/walk.

Pre-registration for the event is available on-line on TAMC’s website.  Interested participants are encouraged to register in advance at www.tamc.org by clicking on the Monster Dash icon on the homepage.

Registration will also be available on-site at TAMC beginning at 8:30 a.m. on the day of the run/walk for both kids and adults.  On that Saturday, November 1, the Little Monsters Fun Run for ages 4 through 12 will begin at 9:30 a.m. and the 5k run/walk will get underway at 10:00 a.m.

Following the run/walk, awards will be presented for top male and female finishers as well as for the best male and female costumes, best couple costume, best family costume, and best boy and girl children’s costumes.

Registration cost for the event is $15 for adults, $10 for children, and $40 for a family of four.

Caron, who developed the concept for the unique event, has a special connection to the cause that will benefit.  Her grandfather Robert Whited lost his battle to blood cancer in 2011, and a special running, skiing and adventuring buddy of hers, Kyle Hendrickson, just finished treatment for acute myeloid leukemia and is no longer able to run – so Caron is planning the run/walk, and in the future to run herself in memory and honor of two men she cherishes.

“For the past two years I have trained hundreds of miles for myself and have never found complete satisfaction. It was recently placed upon my heart to start using those miles in a positive way to effect change in the world and run for those who can no longer run,” said Caron. “In April I will be participating in the 2015 Boston Marathon. The difference with this marathon is that I will not be running for me. I will be participating as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team in Training and running in memory of my grandfather and Kyle.”

In 1988, Bruce Cleland assembled a NYC Marathon team to raise money in honor of his daughter, a leukemia survivor. A total of 38 runners ended up raising $322,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) work to discover new treatments for blood cancers. During the next 25 years, LLS’s Team in Training (TNT) has become the leader in endurance sports training for charity, funding significant therapies like chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants, which have a significant impact on blood cancer patients.

“TNT and LLS fundraising efforts through marathons, triathlons, cycling and hiking really are making cures happen,” said Caron.  “By participating as a member of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) TNT in the 2015 Boston Marathon, I am raising funds to help find cures and ensure access to treatments for blood cancer patients. The support of those who participate in the Monster Dash Aroostook event will help fund treatments that save lives every day; like immunotherapies that use a person’s own immune system to kill cancer. You may not know it, but every single donation helps save a life with breakthrough therapies such as these. Patients need these cures and they need our support.”

For more information on the Monster Dash 5k event or on the local effort to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, contact Caron at (207) 768-4307 or scaron@emhs.org.

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