Community

Online Registration Open for Spectrum Health Irish Jig 5K

Online registration is open for the annual Spectrum Health Irish Jig 5K road race, which will be held on Saturday, March 21, in East Grand Rapids. The race will feature a “staggered” start beginning at 9 a.m.

Now in its 32nd year, the Irish Jig has grown to become one of Michigan’s premier 5K (3.1 mile) races. The USA Track & Field certified course is mostly flat with a few gentle hills. The start of the race is a short walk from the East Grand Rapids High School gym, 2211 Lake Drive SE, East Grand Rapids. Top age group winners receive prizes and top overall finishers receive cash awards.

Spectrum Health is proud to support colorectal cancer research, education and patient care through this event. Among cancers that affect men and women, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, yet it is preventable.

“Although colon cancer awareness has traditionally lagged behind, we are working hard to help people understand that colon cancer screening saves lives,” said James Ogilvie, MD, Spectrum Health Medical Group. “Nationally, the trends are improving because we have excellent screening tests that can detect the majority of cancers at an early stage.”

Thanks to increased awareness of the risks and symptoms, advances in screening tests, and evolving treatment options, the number of people diagnosed and dying from colorectal cancer continues to decline. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit spectrumhealth.org/colon-rectal-cancer or call 855-SHCANCER (855.742.2623).

Donations to the Spectrum Health Ferguson Digestive Disease Institute Excellence Fund for colorectal cancer research, education and patient care, can be made by calling the Spectrum Health Foundation at 616.391.2000 or visiting give.spectrumhealth.org/coloncancer. You can text CARE to 41010 to donate $10 or HEALTH to 41010 to donate $5 to colorectal cancer research.

Runners can register online at spectrumhealth.org/irishjig or classicrace.com through noon on Thursday, March 19. The race is $20 for ages 14 and younger and $25 for ages 15 and older. Late registration will be available during packet pickup on Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21. The late registration fee increases to $25 for ages 14 and younger and $35 for ages 15 and older.

Packet pickup and late registration will take place on Friday, March 20, from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 21, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the East Grand Rapids High School gym.

Long-sleeved, dry-blend wicking shirts in sizes XS to 2XL are available at packet pickup to the first 4,000 preregistered participants on a first-come basis. Sizes cannot be guaranteed. If extra shirts are available after the race, they will be sold for $10 each.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system, based in West Michigan, offering a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, which is comprised of 11 hospitals including Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital; 173 ambulatory and service sites; 1,200 physicians and advanced practice providers employed by Spectrum Health Medical Group; and Priority Health, a 615,000-member health plan. Spectrum Health is West Michigan’s largest employer with 21,700 employees. The organization provided $294.6 million in community benefit during its 2014 fiscal year. In 2014, Spectrum Health was named one of the nation’s 15 Top Health Systems® by Truven Health Analytics.