Lobo Cancer Challenge Registration Closes Sept. 8
Registration fees for the annual community event go up after Labor Day
Registration for the 2023 Lobo Cancer Challenge is on its final stretch. The annual community event featuring bicyclists, walkers, runners, stair-climbers, and for the first time, youngsters from 1 to 10 years old, will happen Sept. 23 at University Stadium.
Those wanting to get in on the fun need to register by Sept. 8., but it’s better to get in as early as possible because registration fees will climb after Labor Day. Beginning Sept. 5, registration increases by $10.
The Lobo Cancer Challenge is in its seventh year and is the premier fundraising event for the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center.
It started in 2017 and has grown from 170 participants to more than 850 last year. Since its inauguration, the event has raised more than $1.5 million.
Thanks to the generosity of corporate sponsors, every dollar raised by participants, known as Challengers, goes to the important cancer research, patient care, community outreach, and training and education that happens every day at the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center.
This year’s event will feature 25-mile and 50-mile bike rides, a 5k run/walk, the University Stadium stair climb challenge and, for the first time, the Cub Pack 1k run for kids ages 1 to 10.
“This is a community event that offers a chance to reflect and celebrate,” said event director Amy Liotta. “Cancer affects nearly everyone. Chances are good that you know someone who’s had cancer, or you’ve fought this disease yourself. The Lobo Cancer Challenge gives participants many ways to honor their loved ones and support the UNM Cancer Center’s mission.”
The event will also have plenty to see and do before and after Challengers finish their respective events.
The Participant Village will feature sponsor booths, including breakfast burritos from presenting sponsor Blake’s Lotaburger.
There also will be face painting, henna tattoos, and massages, along with games on the field and educational opportunities, including the UNM Cancer Center’s giant, inflatable colon.
UNM Pharmacy will be on hand to do body mass index (BMI), glucose, and blood pressure screenings.
To learn more about the event, visit www.lobocancerchallenge.org.
UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center
The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center is the Official Cancer Center of New Mexico and the only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center in a 500-mile radius.
Its more than 120 board-certified oncology specialty physicians include cancer surgeons in every specialty (abdominal, thoracic, bone and soft tissue, neurosurgery, genitourinary, gynecology, and head and neck cancers), adult and pediatric hematologists/medical oncologists, gynecologic oncologists, and radiation oncologists. They, along with more than 600 other cancer healthcare professionals (nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists, navigators, psychologists and social workers), provide treatment to 65% of New Mexico's cancer patients from all across the state and partner with community health systems statewide to provide cancer care closer to home. They treated approximately 14,000 patients in about 100,000 ambulatory clinic visits in addition to in-patient hospitalizations at UNM Hospital.
A total of nearly 400 patients participated in cancer clinical trials testing new cancer treatments that include tests of novel cancer prevention strategies and cancer genome sequencing.
The more than 100 cancer research scientists affiliated with the UNMCCC were awarded $35.7 million in federal and private grants and contracts for cancer research projects. Since 2015, they have published nearly 1000 manuscripts, and promoting economic development, they filed 136 new patents and launched 10 new biotechnology start-up companies.
Finally, the physicians, scientists and staff have provided education and training experiences to more than 500 high school, undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral fellowship students in cancer research and cancer health care delivery.