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Health & Fitness

A Community United in the Fight Against Cancer

The Pearl River community banded together on Sunday, May 12th to support the first annual Tommy Scognamiglio 5K Walk/Run, which raised money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

When we decided to organize a 5K as part of our fundraising campaign for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I never could have imagined that it would be as wonderful and fulfilling as it was.

I told friends and family that it would be great if we could get 40 people to turn up. After all, we only had about three weeks to advertise the race. But, I underestimated the strength and power of the community in which we were hosting this 5k. Pearl River is and always has been a community that rallies around each other in times of need, in times of joy, and most importantly, in times of despair.

For those of you who were unable to attend, this past Sunday was the First Annual Tommy Scognamiglio 5K Walk/Run.  There were over 300 people in attendance and the event raised $11,500 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

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The race was held in memory of Tommy Scognamiglio, who was an incredibly inspirational 16 year old who lost his battle to osteosarcoma on October 17, 2012. First and foremost, I have to thank the entire Scognamiglio family for their involvement, encouragement, and support. Mr. and Mrs. Scognamiglio, Pat, Christa, Missy, and Rosie, you all are my inspiration and I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to be a part of your lives. The amazing turnout of supporters for this race is a testament to how many lives your family has touched.

The event itself was absolutely incredible. We could not have asked for better weather or a better start to Mother’s Day. Right around 8:30 a.m., people started filtering in for the race, registering, buying t-shirts, and making donations! I was so humbled when the Clarkstown South Track and Field Team presented us with a donation of $501 that they had raised at one of their track meets. It was so incredibly generous and a perfect example of a community banding together to do good and help one another out. It really made me proud to be a former Rockland County track and field athlete.

Find out what's happening in Pearl Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Girls from the Pearl River track team also came and volunteered their time helping with everything from set up to directing people where to go on the course. We also saw some smoldering fast times out on the course with the winner coming in at 15:25 (albeit the race was a little bit less than 3.1), and an 11 year old little boy running just over 20 minutes!

Since the start of planning for this race, everyone involved went above and beyond. The Pearl River High School was extremely accommodating in helping us plan the 5K and use the high school grounds for the race. I’d particularly like to thank Mr. Bill Furdon, Mr. Quinton Van Wynen, and my dad, James Quail, for making sure that the race actually happened.

This race could also never have happened without Janice Lenihan, whose husband John passed away in July 2011 after an 11-year battle with multiple myeloma. Mrs. Lenihan acquired all of the raffles for the event, tirelessly advertised to people all around Pearl River and beyond, and helped with every aspect of planning the event. She also gave a beautiful message to all of those who attended about how much each dollar raised really does make a difference for those affected by cancer. I can never say thank you enough to everyone for what they've done to help make this race and this campaign in general a success.

Organizing this 5K was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, and I hope that you all had as much fun as I did on the day of the race. Save the date on your calendar- I’m hoping the Tommy Scognamgilio 5K Walk/Run will be an annual mother’s day event! Thank you everyone for all of your support! If you want to learn more about my Woman of the Year campaign, please visit our website at www.leukin4cure.webs.com

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