Saturday events to raise money for special causes

Medical students at East Carolina University will be raising money for health-related causes in a pair of events this Saturday.

In the morning, the Medical Student Council at the Brody School of Medicine will hold the 18th annual Hamstring Hustle 5K Run/Walk.

Sarah Bennett, an ECU medical student, runs in last year’s Hamstring Hustle. Bennett finished first in the women’s 20-29 category with a time of 22 minutes, 1 second. File photo by Cliff Hollis

The race starts at 9 a.m. beside Moe’s Southwestern Grill on Red Banks Road. The race will wind through the Lynndale neighborhood and is a USA Track and Field-certified course/sanctioned event.

A portion of the proceeds from the race will benefit the ECU Pediatric Healthy Weight Research and Treatment Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children achieve a healthy weight and improve their nutrition.

Registration is $25. Registration is available online at http://www.active.com; search for “hamstring hustle.” Late registration begins at 8 a.m. the day of the event at the race site.

Participants should be at the race site no later than 8:15 a.m. the day of the race.

Awards will be presented to the overall male and female winners and to the top three males and females in each age group: 12 and under, 13-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60 and over.

E-mail race organizers at hamstringhustle@gmail.com for more information.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, students will be hosting an opportunity for people to get a haircut – a head shave, to be more precise.

Second-year medical students, led by Phil Leisy, are hosting a St. Baldrick’s head-shaving event outside the former Laupus Library at the Brody Medical Sciences Building. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation raises money and shows support for pediatric cancer research by inviting volunteers around the country to shave their heads, among other fundraising projects.

Those who don’t want to get shaved but have hair to spare may donate 8 inches of their locks to Pantene Beautiful Lengths to make wigs for cancer patients.

At Saturday’s event will be Sarah Swaim, one of five young people around the country chosen to be an ambassador for St. Baldricks. Swaim is an ECU student on medical leave while receiving treatment for leukemia. Her story is online at http://www.stbaldricks.org/kids/mypage/3542.

The students hope to raise $5,000 locally. As of Wednesday, they had raised more than $4,500. Today, students are selling discs in the Brody hallway to fill an event poster and having a bake sale.

More information about the event is online at http://www.stbaldricks.org/events/ecu. Donations also may be made at that website.