October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this year the San Diego affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has planned a number of local events in which San Diegans can participate to show their support and help promote breast cancer awareness in San Diego County. On Oct. 30, the UCSD rowing team along with Komen San Diego will host its fourth annual Row for the Cure at North Ski Beach on Mission Bay from 7:00 to 11:00 a.m. Rowers and kayakers of all ages and skill levels will participate in timed races, and prizes will be awarded to the top finishers in each category. Participants are encouraged to raise pledge money to benefit the Komen Foundation, and all community members are invited to attend the event. Entry forms for Row for the Cure must be received by Oct. 14, and the cost to participate, which includes a Row for the Cure T-shirt, ranges from $25 to $90, depending on category.

“Breast cancer is a disease that has affected the families of several of our team members in recent years,” said UCSD rowing coach and Row for the Cure coordinator Pattie Pinkerton. “As a team, we wanted to find a way for the San Diego water sports community to support Komen San Diego in their fight against breast cancer, so four years ago we launched Row for the Cure. Since then we’ve raised more than $40,000 for Komen San Diego, and at the same time we’ve gotten the community involved in a cause that is very near and dear to us.”

Komen San Diego’s Race for the Cure is San Diego County’s largest race supporting local breast cancer education and awareness. This year’s co-ed 5K (3.1-mile) run takes place in Balboa Park on Nov. 6. A new event, Kids for the Cure, encourages families to educate children ages 12 and under about breast cancer awareness by allowing their children to join the thousands of expected race participants in this year’s Race for the Cure. In addition, San Diegans that cannot attend the Race for the Cure can participate in Sleep In for the Cure, an opportunity provided by Komen San Diego that allows people to pay a fee slightly more than the race entry fee and receive a special Sleep In for the Cure nightshirt. The costs for Race for the Cure, Kids for the Cure and Sleep In for the Cure are $25, $15 and $30, respectively.

“We encourage all San Diegans to participate in Breast Cancer Awareness Month events during the month of October,” said Samm McDonald, president of the San Diego Affiliate of the Komen Foundation. “Proceeds from all Komen San Diego events held during Breast Cancer Awareness Month benefit the foundation and help us carry out our mission to increase breast cancer education, screening and treatment in San Diego. The contributions and involvement from local community members are what allow us to provide San Diegans with the research and education programs necessary to continue the fight against breast cancer.”

For additional information on all of Komen San Diego’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month events, Race for the Cure or Komen San Diego, visit the Komen San Diego Web site at www.sdkomen.org. San Diegans can sign up for the Nov. 6 Komen San Diego Race for the Cure, Kids for the Cure or Sleep In for the Cure at the Komen San Diego Web site, or call In Motion at (760) 692-2900.

The Komen Foundation was established in 1982 by Nancy Goodman Brinker in memory of her sister, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. Brinker herself was diagnosed just two years later, and has spent the past 18 years dedicating her life to finding a cure. The Komen Foundation is a national organization, with a network of volunteers throughout local chapters and events across the country, fighting to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by research, education, screening and treatment. The foundation is the largest private funder of research dedicated solely to breast cancer in the United States.