Maryland Half Marathon Has Raised Over $1M For Cancer Research
FULTON, Md. (WJZ) — Five years ago two friends from Baltimore had an idea: a running event to raise money in the fight against cancer.
Ron Matz reports the Maryland Half-Marathon has become one of the most popular races of the year and it happens again on Saturday.
About 2,000 runners will step off in the Maryland Half Marathon in Fulton, Howard County on Saturday. It's a benefit for the Greenebaum Cancer Center at the University of Maryland.
"It's a lot of hard work. My buddy Jon Sevel and I, we started this. Now five years later, the amount of good this race has done in the community is just overwhelming. It's great," said Michael Greenebaum, co-chair of the Maryland Half Marathon. "We raised over a million dollars in the first four years so please come out and support us."
"It's an exciting event. Mike and I took a passion for running and fundraising and put it together and built this. It's humbling to see the amount of money we've raised for the cancer center," Sevel said.
It's kid and family friendly.
"We have a lot going on Saturday. We have a 13.1 mile half marathon through beautiful Howard County. We have a street festival this year. It's very family friendly. We have a kids fun run. It's all about bringing the community together to support a common cause," Sevel said.
For Greenebaum it's personal; his mom is an inspiration.
"My mom is a real inspiration to me and a lot of people here in the community for 23 years," he said. She's a breast cancer survivor. She does great. She's actually taking drugs that were developed here at the University of Maryland."
One hundred percent of the money raised at the marathon goes to the Greenebaum Cancer Center.
"In the first four years we've raised over a million dollars. That's money we've actually given to the cancer center. It's hard cold funds. That to me is phenomena," Sevel said.
The marathon is a great event, growing with good friends every year.
"The money goes to much needed funding for cancer research," Greenebaum said. "Fifteen years ago my mom and dad helped got the cancer center going again with a major gift. They've been able to recruit world class researchers and now the cancer center is ranked #11 in the country. It's an amazing story of the progress that has happened here in Baltimore."
"You start to see some of the events going on in the world today, it's so important to keep everybody focused on something good that can be done, and these kind of events just bring out the good in people," Sevel said.
WJZ is a proud sponsor of the Maryland Half Marathon as part of our continuing community commitment. For more information, click here.
