Free Bearcats Football Tickets for 'Walk Ahead' Participants

CINCINNATI—The University of Cincinnati (UC) Department of Athletics is supporting the Oct. 23 Walk Ahead for a Brain Tumor Cure with a special gift for all participants. 

Everyone who walks or runs in the seventh annual 5k at Sawyer Point will be eligible to receive complimentary tickets for themselves and their immediate family to UC's football game against Memphis on Friday, Nov. 18, at Nippert Stadium. The game begins at 8 p.m. 

Participants will receive instructions on ticket redemption in their race packet. Ticket redemption will involve sending an email request and then picking up the tickets at will call inside Nippert Stadium before the game. 

The Oct. 23 Walk Ahead will start and end at Sawyer Point Park in downtown Cincinnati. The timed 5k run begins at 8:30 a.m., and the 5k walk starts at 9 a.m. Registration is $45 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under.  

Walk Ahead, the largest regional fundraiser for brain tumor education and research, benefits the Brain Tumor Center at the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute, a part of UC Health and the UC College of Medicine. Specifically, Brain Tumor Center researchers use Walk Ahead funds to study the major pathways used by cancer genes, the specific proteins that play a role in the spread of cancer cells and the compounds that inhibit the ability of cancer cells to utilize energy.

To register, donate or volunteer, please visit www.walkahead.org. For sponsorship information, contact Alexandra Lolli at 513- 558-6903 or Alexandra.Lolli@uc.edu. 

Last year's Walk Ahead event drew 3,383 participants from 19 states and raised more than $360,000, bringing the event's cumulative fundraising total to more than $1.3 million. The 2016 event co-chairs are Rick June and Michael Perez. Presenting sponsors are Anthem BlueCross BlueShield, the Shemenski Foundation and the Joe Rippe family.

The American Brain Tumor Association estimates that 70,000 primary brain tumors (those that originate in the brain) are diagnosed each year, about 35 percent of which are malignant. The incidence of metastatic brain tumors (those that have spread from another part of the body) is far higher, with more than 170,000 cases diagnosed each year.

The UC Brain Tumor Center treats patients with complex tumors of the brain, head, neck and central nervous system. The center's multidisciplinary team includes specialists in radiation oncology, neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, otolaryngology, neuro-ophthalmology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, restorative medicine, neuropathology, neuroradiology and integrative medicine. Ongoing collaboration among expert team members at a weekly Multidisciplinary Tumor Board Conference, combined with state-of-the-art technology, ensures the best possible treatment for patients with primary or metastatic brain tumors.