Freihofer's Junior 3K Run to be Presented by SportsSignup

April 03, 2012 (PRLEAP.COM) Sports News
Saratoga Springs, NY – April 3, 2012 — SportsSignup (http://www.sportssignup.com), a leading provider of online sports registration management solutions is joining forces with the 34th Annual Freihofer's Run for Women to present and promote a Junior 3K Run with a special fund-raising initiative, "Kids Helping Kids," to benefit the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at the Children's Hospital at Albany Medical Center. The announcement was made by Anthony Bruno, CEO of SportsSignup and George Regan, Event Director of the Freihofer's Run for Women.

The 2nd annual Freihofer's Junior 3K Run is a 1.86-mile road race to promote an active, healthy lifestyle for youth girls and boys ages 9-14. It begins at Empire State Plaza in Downtown Albany at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday June 2, 2012, one-hour after as many as 6,000 women take the starting line for the prestigious 34th Freihofer's Run for Women. The Junior 3K Run takes place on a closed course and is monitored by Albany Police Department and numerous course marshals along the route to ensure participant safety.

Being a professionally timed race, awards will be given to the first place girl and boy overall, as well as three age groupings. In addition to running for exercise and awards, all youth athlete participants will also be helping other kids with each registration benefiting the Children's Hospital.

"The opportunity to have children at the Melodies Center benefit from other kids participating in this fun and healthy activity is very rewarding to us," said Mr. Bruno. "Our business is all about getting kids involved in sports, so we jumped at this chance to support a great cause and at the same time encourage youths to exercise. This cause is very close to my heart as my five year old daughter Isabella is among the thousands of children in the Capital Region that have benefited from the innovative treatments, exceptional doctors and caring staff at the Melodies Center."

"Kids Helping Kids" fundraising campaign will contribute $10 to the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders for every child (ages 9-14) who registers to compete in the Freihofer's Junior 3K Run Presented by SportsSignup on June 2, 2012. This includes a matching donation from SportsSignup – the official online sports registration system of the event.

"Last year the Junior 3K Run was a great addition to our events as it gave us a competitive race for youths that had outgrown the kids run but were not yet ready for the 5K event," said event Director George Regan. "To encourage and teach active, healthy living we have partnered with more than 20 schools in the Albany, NY Capital region to conduct training programs to prepare their children to run the 3K distance on June 2nd," continued Mr. Regan. "With the support of SportsSignup and the Melodies Center it's another means to help us grow this event and at the same time support a great cause."

"We are grateful to SportsSignup and the Freihofer's Run for Women for making the Melodies Center a beneficiary of this popular and worthwhile event," said Vikramjit Kanwar, M.D. pediatric oncologist and director of the Melodies Center at the Children's Hospital at Albany Medical Center. "We encourage all kids in the Capital Region to lace up their running shoes and come on down to have a fun run and help other children at the same time."

To register for the race, visit http://www.freihofersrun.com/3K.htm

About SportsSignup
SportsSignup, owned and operated by League Sports Services LLC, provides sports organizations and event organizers with easy-to-learn and easy-to-use integrated Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to facilitate online sports registration, coach/volunteer background check management and concussion management tools. Since 2003, the company has been dedicated to operating a secure, affordable, and hassle-free online service suite that enables administrators from thousands of soccer, football, baseball, lacrosse, basketball, track & field, and many other sports organizations to easily automate many aspects of their duties. For more information about SportsSignup, please visit www.SportsSignup.com.

About Freihofer's Run for Women
The Freihofer's Run for Women is the world's only 5K road race to hold the IAAF's prestigious "silver" label designation, drawing elite and recreational participants from throughout the United States and more than 12 countries. To register for the 34th annual Freihofer's Run for Women, or for more information about the 24th annual Freihofer's Community Walk, 25th annual Freihofer's Kids' Run and 10th annual CapitalCare Health & Fitness Expo, visit www.freihofersrun.com. From the homepage, you can also link to the event's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages.

About Albany Medical Center
Albany Medical Center is northeastern New York's only academic health sciences center. It consists of Albany Medical College, Albany Medical Center Hospital and the Albany Medical Center Foundation,
Inc. Additional information about Albany Medical Center can be found at www.amc.edu. The Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders employs a multi-disciplinary team consisting of four pediatric hematologist/oncologists, a physician assistant, a nurse practitioner, highly trained chemotherapy nurses, a pediatric social worker, and a child life specialist. In addition, the center is supported by all of Albany Medical Center's pediatric subspecialists. More than 700 children are seen on a yearly basis in this area for a wide range of cancers and blood disorders.