Great Strides Walk returns to Veterans Park

The annual Great Strides Walk will return to Veterans Park this month, on May 12.

The walk, which serves as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s largest national fundraising event, will start at 10 a.m. and cover 3 miles in the park. Check-in will start at 9 a.m.

While it is free to register for the race, walkers are encouraged to raise money, according to the event’s website. This year, the fundraising goal for the event is $200,000.

“Every walker who joins us makes a difference in the lives of people living with cystic fibrosis,” said Margaret Smith, executive director of the CFF Alabama Chapter. “When we first began, children with CF typically did not live long enough to attend elementary school. Today, people in our community are living long enough to achieve milestones like graduating high school and getting married.” 

This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the walks. Each year, more than 125,000 people participate in the 400 nationwide walks, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. 

Participants have options to start or renew a team, join a team or register as an individual, and are able to fundraise for the Foundation in that manner. There is also a mobile app, according to the foundation, that walkers can use to fundraise. As of press time, $41,230 of the $200,000 goal had been raised.

“We have made tremendous progress, but too many people are still losing their fight with CF too soon,” Smith said. “We still have a long way to go until we reach our goal of a cure for everyone with this terrible disease.”

For more information, call 870-8565, email alabama@cff.org or go to cff.org/greatstrides.