Deadline today for Omaha Corporate Cup

Today is the deadline to register for this year’s Omaha Corporate Cup.

Thousands of walkers and runners are expected Sunday, Sept. 17, at the 26th annual event that benefits the American Lung Association. Participants may choose between the 10K (6.2 miles) run/walk or the two-mile walk. The event begins at 8:15 a.m. at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, 19th Street and Capitol Avenue.

“We are a health care institution, so this is a wonderful event to participate in and show the medical center’s support of the American Lung Association,” said Keith Swarts, who helped organize the medical center team in the inaugural Corporate Cup in 1981. Swarts serves as director of business services at UNMC.

The Omaha Corporate Cup — one of the premier running events in the nation and among the largest of corporate road races in the United States — helps fight lung disease, which is the third leading cause of death in the United States. More than 200,000 Nebraskans suffer from some form of lung disease.

Lung disease/tobacco in Nebraska 200,000 Nebraskans suffer from some form of lung disease 125,000 Nebraskans have asthma – 30,00 of them are children Asthma is the No. 1 chronic illness associated with missed school and work Nebraska ranks 9th in the nation for asthma related deaths 8,000 Nebraska children become addicted to cigarettes each year The average age children start smoking in Nebraska is 11 Source: American Lung Association

On Sept. 17, strollers, wagons, pets and small children are welcome at the two-mile walk, but restricted on the 10K course. All participants and their families are invited to a street party following the event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Participants who register through UNMC will receive a Corporate Cup T-shirt (see design) with their packet before the race at the Center for Healthy Living and a mug after completing the event at the street party outside the Civic Auditorium.

UNMC will have a table inside the Civic Auditorium — before and after the event — with fruit, bagels and juice for medical center participants. The entry fee is $20 for medical center employees and $20 for family members.

To register for the Omaha Corporate Cup contact Rick Pruch at 559-8422, e-mail rpruch@unmc.edu or return the registration form (download here) today to the Center for Healthy Living. Make checks payable to UNMC.