And here they come! The first Schlepers crossed the finish line in record time (but who's counting!). Men and women, old and young, supporters and survivors, joined the fight against breast cancer at the AFRMC First Annual 5K Schlep.

A sunny Sunday in the City was the perfect setting for the American Friends of the Rabin Medical Center’s (AFRMC) First Annual NYC Schlep, a “super Sunday” event of Summer 2011.  With the Statue of Liberty looking on from across the bay, more than 200 runners, walkers, and their friends “schlepped” through Battery Park on July 17. The inspiration for the run came from Dr. Joshua Plaut, who said “the memory of my mother Hadassah” prompted him to organize the NYC Schlep. Plaut is the Executive Director of AFRMC.

Runners were organized in teams.  The largest, “Team Natalie,” included 100 donors who ran in support of a 27 year old California breast cancer patient.  Sponsors of the 5K Run/Walk included Dr. Richard Mahler of the Crystal Family Foundation, Alan Sieroty of Genentech, the JCP (Jewish Community Project of Downtown), El Al, Sharsheret, and the Shiboleth Law Firm. New York State Assemblyman David Weprin, running for Congress in the 9^th District, joined the “Schlep-ers.”

Proceeds from the “Schlep,” benefit research at the Davidoff Cancer Center of the Rabin Medical Center investigating metastatic breast cancer in women with this genetic predisposition. According to AFRMC, “developing an understanding of how this disease arises will help doctors prevent its occurrence, allowing women to overcome a disease which today is essentially incurable.”  One in eight Jewish women in the United States and Israel will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Genetic mutations in the BRCA genes, more prevalent among Jewish women than in the general population, are a recognized as a cause of breast cancer.

Dr. Joshua Plaut joined his enthusiastic staff at AFRMC at Battery Park for the Sunday Schlep.

The first Schlepers crossed the finish line in record time.

From Left, David Weprin, Batya Rotter, the most significant fund raiser, and Barry Cohen, President of the American Friends of the Rabin Medical Center, and Dr. Joshua Plaut, Executive Director of AFRMC.