About 600 runners participated in the Fitzy’s Halloween 5K and Fun Run/Walk at the Stone House in Wyomissing on Sunday.
The annual event is hosted by the Lauren Foundation in memory of Lauren Fitzgerald, a 2003 Wyomissing High School graduate who died in 2005 of a brain tumor. Proceeds fund brain tumor research and scholarships for local students.
The run also highlighted local residents and their contributions to the foundation.
Sofia Merolla, a seventh-grader at Wyomissing Junior High School, designed the T-shirts made for this year’s event, said Michael Fitzgerald, Lauren’s father.
Sofia was one of several local students who competed in a design contest held at the Stone House during Wyomissing’s July Fourth parade.
In addition to raising money, the race also honored a woman who died in April of brain cancer.
“We’re also conducting this year’s event in memory of Deb Hierl, a Wyomissing resident who passed away last year after a 10- to 11-year battle with a GBM (glioblastoma), the most deadly form of brain cancer,” Fitzgerald said in a written statement. “Deb was a tireless supporter and beat all the odds and predictions that go along with her diagnosis; survival is usually in months, not years.”
Because of the rainy weather, there weren’t as many people in Halloween costumes this year, Fitzgerald said after the race, the 13th edition of the event.
While a fundraising total wasn’t yet available for Sunday’s event, typically about $10,000 is raised for scholarships and research, he said.
“A lot of work goes into staging the event, but we’re just humbled every year by the turnout and the sponsors,” Fitzgerald said.