Ellen’s Run Commemorating 25th Anniversary With Virtual Run

Whether you’re toned and trim from a quarantine health kick or packing on the Covid-19 … pounds, Ellen’s Run is for you. It’s for all levels. So, close the fridge. Get off the couch. Or, just keep your exercise routine going, like the run itself, virtually. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Ellen Hermanson Foundation’s signature event, to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer, is open to anyone, anywhere, on any path. This year, you can walk or run any 5K (3.1 mile) stretch you choose, between Sunday, August 16 and the Tuesday, August 31.

The first 500 to register (runsignup.com) get a free T-shirt and gift. Runners can post their results beginning Sunday, August 16 through Monday, August 31, 2020. It’s still a competition: top performers and fundraisers will be announced. Post your Run photos on Instagram and make sure to include #EllensRun25 OR #EllensRun25Survivor.

“Sign up and help us celebrate our 25th Anniversary,” says Julie Ratner. “With a virtual run, our friends all over the world can participate.”

The run began, almost as a pipe dream, in Julie’s kitchen, to honor the memory of her sister, Ellen Hermanson, who became an activist for the disease which eventually felled her. As Julie keeps exceeding expectations, her dream keeps expanding.

“This is very much a community organization,” she says. “When we were asked to found the Ellen Hermanson Breast Center, we had only one caveat: figure out how to marry the rigueur of a teaching hospital with the warmth of a community. It’s scary enough to go in there for treatment, so, we want you to feel like you’re in a safe place. And I think we’ve really figured out how to do that.” They service breast cancer patients from diagnosis to treatment to aftercare, with state of the art technology and psychological support. “Edyle O’Brien, LCSW, our Oncological Social Worker, is so extraordinary,” Julie raves. “I don’t know how she does it, but she keeps up with everyone, even after they’re done with treatment.”

And so, the Ellen Hermanson Foundation is filled with loyal supporters who will never forget how it supported them. “We’re one of the few organizations that keep the money here in the Hamptons where it is raised,” Julie stresses. “We serve local people. No one is turned away because she or he doesn’t have money to pay for insurance or a mammogram.”

And that is vision made real.

UPDATE: Ellen’s Run has been extended to August 31.

For more information: www.ellenhermanson.org.