Put a pink ribbon in your calendar on Sunday, May 4.

It’s the date of the first annual Susan G. Komen North Jersey Race for the Cure, (www.njakomen.org) in Newark’s Branch Brook Park (www.branchbrookpark.org). Organizers hope many thousands of people will run, jog, walk or cheer to raise money to battle breast cancer.

Last September the race organized by the New York City chapter (www.komennyc.org) attracted 22,000 to Central Park and raised nearly $5 million. The North Jersey affiliate, founded in 1997, has worked hard to organize the Branch Brook race, get funding and visibility. The goal is to raise $1.5 million.

Why should you participate? A patient newly diagnosed with breast cancer (6,000 women will face this in New Jersey in 2008) must make a myriad of critical decisions while dealing with the shock of “I have cancer.” The Komen chapter can provide a lifeline during this difficult time.

Volunteers in the brightly decorated house at 785 Springfield Ave. in Summit help patients navigate this daunting medical maze with support, enthusiasm, and camaraderie.
Funds raised here also help ensure that everyone, regardless of income, has access to state-of –the-art screening and treatment.

You can sign up for the race online. You can also register an entire team. And you can honor a survivor or remember a loved one by planting a cherry blossom tree in the park. The display of these names will be part of ceremonies on race day. Branch Brook’s collection of cherry blossoms attract tourists from all over the world — and they are in full bloom now.

So on Sunday May 4, strap on your running — or walking — shoes and join North Jersey’s first annual Race for the Cure. We’ll be there too, running and cheering you on. The finish line is just the beginning…. this is a race for life.