Run, run, as fast as you can! Beat the Bridge 8k run has runners travel over Seattle’s University Bridge – which gets raised part way through the race. So, if you can run fast enough you’ll beat the bridge, if not, you get to hang out with your fellow participants until in comes back down. Don’t worry, if you don’t make the bridge there’s a live band, and a bunch of prizes to help pass the time. The event also consists of a 3-mile walk, a 1-mile fun run, and a Diaper Derby for toddlers.
This race attracts thousands of runners, walkers, and wheelchair racers each year and is one of the longest running events in the Seattle area, having started back in 1983.
Beat the Bridge is operated as a fundraiser for JDRF, the largest charitable supporter of type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic, life-threatening autoimmune disease that is currently unpreventable. It has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle, and occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks insulin-producing beta cells within the pancreas and begins killing them off. Eventually the pancreas isn’t able to produce enough insulin to control the blood-sugar spikes that happen after eating. Today, people with T1D rely on insulin therapy to control their blood sugar levels. Insulin therapy is imperfect, however, and even with advances in care, most people still experience life-threatening blood-sugar highs and lows. 1.25 million Americans currently have type 1 diabetes (T1D), and the disease costs about $15 billion each year to treat. Finding ways to prevent this disease is central to saving lives and reducing healthcare costs. With T1D there are no days off, and there is no cure. That’s why since 1970, JDRF has sponsored nearly $2 billion in scientific research in 17 countries.
Since the first Beat the Bridge race in 1983, Nordstrom has partnered with JDRF to raise funds to cure, prevent and better treat T1D. Beat the Bridge is part of the JDRF One Walk program, which holds annual charitable walks in more than 200 locations in 13 countries. JDRF One Walk has raised more than $1 billion for T1D research and currently holds the number one position as the largest Walk in the country! So head out on May 15, 2016 for the 34th Annual Nordstrom Beat the Bridge to Beat Diabetes. For more information and to register check out the event website at :
http://www2.jdrf.org/site/TR/Walk/JDRFNorthwestChapter4700?pg=entry&fr_id=6112
