By Roy York

Most people may not be able to walk a mile in a cancer patient’s shoes, but the Student Activities Board and DanceBlue want the Lexington community to run five kilometers to help keep children with cancer in the race.

On Sunday, SAB and DanceBlue will host their 14th Annual 5K Run/Walk as part of Homecoming week to benefit children battling cancer. Early registration is $12, registration the day of the race is $16 and all proceeds go to DanceBlue, where the funds are given to the pediatric oncology unit at UK Hospital.

“Our whole cause and our whole reason for doing this is for the kids,” said Jaclyn Hawkins, campus marketing coordinator for DanceBlue.

DanceBlue will donate half of the money raised from the event to cancer research at UK, while the other half will be split between nurses at an after-effects clinic that cares for children after chemotherapy treatments and social workers for the children.

Bryce Moffett, director of traditions for SAB, said Dance Blue and SAB hosted separate 5K events in the past, but four years ago the two merged.

Hawkins said DanceBlue was fortunate to have the support of SAB, which foots the bill for planning and hosting the run. She said SAB’s assistance helps DanceBlue focus on its mission in helping children with cancer.

“(DanceBlue) is focused on the 24-hour event, but we want to do things year round to keep the focus on the kids,” Hawkins said.

She said having an event and fundraiser early in the year would help spread the word about DanceBlue among new students and people throughout Lexington. Hawkins added that having the support of other student organizations such as SAB would help DanceBlue achieve that goal.

Hawkins ran in the race last year and  saw a great turnout from individual students, student organizations and people in the community.

“There were some die-hard runners from Lexington,” Hawkins said. “It was so funny because we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, that old man is lapping us!’ ”

DanceBlue has received support from John’s Run Walk Shop, which will be officiating the race, and from Second Sunday.

Moffett said medals will be given to the top three male runners and the top three female runners, and the top three runners from each age group will be recognized.

Participants can fill out early registration forms on the SAB Web site, or at John’s Run Walk Shop between 4 p.m and 7 p.m. on Friday. Registration and check-in begins at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at Gate 3 of Commonwealth Stadium, and the race begins at 3 p.m.