Polio benefit race Oct. 27

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Rotary Club is sponsoring a "Race to End Polio" 1 Mile and 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, Oct. 27 to help eradicate polio around the world. Registration will be from 7:00 to 7:30 a.m. at the High Plains Museum. Early registration fee is $20 for the 5K and $15 for the 1 Mile by Oct. 12. After Oct. 12, fees are $25 for the 5K and $20 for the 1 Mile. Registrations will be accepted the day of the race, but participants will not be guaranteed a T-shirt. Children age 12 and younger can participate in a 100 yard fun run for a suggested donation of $5. Proceeds from the race will go to the Rotary International's PolioPlus Fund. Registration forms can be picked up at Golden Plains Realty, 907 West B Street; McCook YMCA; or by contacting Joyce Anderson at .

The course will begin at the Methodist Church parking lot and will include the walking trail and Kelley Park. No bicycles or pets allowed. Refreshments will be provided at the finish of the race. Age divisions by gender include 19 and under, 20-39 and 40 and up. Costumes are optional and prizes will be awarded for best costumes.

Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal disease that still threatens children in parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The poliovirus invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours.

It can strike at any age, but mainly affects children under five years of age. In 1985, Rotary International created PolioPlus. It is a program to immunize all the world's children against polio. To date Rotary has contributed more than $800 million and countless volunteer hours to the protection of more than two billion children in 122 countries.

Contact Joyce Anderson at 345-4512 or Kellie Soden at 345-2942 for more information about the McCook Rotary Club or the Race to End Polio event on Oct. 27.