Race for the Cure heads for Downtown finish

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Race for the Cure on Wednesday announced a big new home base in Downtown Memphis, a big new sponsor in Raymond James and a big new goal of at least 15,000 registered participants this fall.

Susan G. Komen Memphis-MidSouth confirmed the move from the suburbs at a news conference in the lobby of Raymond James Tower overlooking the Mississippi from 50 Front.

The nonprofit that fights breast cancer is leaving the eastern suburbs after 22 years of annual 5K races in Germantown and Collierville.

The next event will begin and end at AutoZone Park on Halloween, Oct. 31.

The race drew more t han 10,000 registered participants at Collierville’s Shops at Carriage Crossing in the 2014 race, but had drawn thousands more in previous years, said Elaine Hare, executive director of the region’s Komen organization.

She sees Downtown Memphis as more of a regional draw than the suburbs.

“The region is used to coming to Memphis for a Redbirds game or a Grizzlies game or Memphis in May,” Hare said. “... Well, we represent 21 counties, seven counties in Mississippi and 14 counties in Tennessee. So by bringing it to the heart of our region we’re hoping we’re going to get not only Memphians and Shelby Countians and DeSoto Countians but our fartherreaching counties, Dyersburg, Jackson, Tennessee, or Marshall County and Holly Springs.”

Little Rock’s Race for the Cure takes place in that city’s downtown and draws 30,000 participants, Hare said, adding that the larger Memphis should eventually draw more to its Downtown.

International Paper remains the presenting sponsor, which requires a minimum $40,000 contribution. But the Komen Foundation picked up a major new backer in the Downtown-based Raymond James, which becomes a “Diamond” sponsor for a minimum $35,000 contribution, Hare said.

“We actually haven’t decided on the total package (of support) yet,” said Jan Gwin, managing director of Raymond James. “... But we’re committed this year and hopefully years to come.’’

Last June, Raymond James ended speculation that it might move its Memphis headquarters out of Downtown by signing a 10-year lease to house about 350 employees in the tower.

“Raymond James is off and running to look at ways to support the community. ... We’re going to look for opportunities like this to put a little more money, a few more resources to where it really matters. What a great organization,” Gwin said of Komen.

The Race for the Cure joins another large footrace staged from Downtown. The St. Jude Memphis Marathon in December drew 19,000 participants.

Race for the Cure funds breastcancer screenings, education and treatment, contributing money to breast-health programs and cancer research.

Downtown Memphis Commission president Paul Morris called the move a “victory” that resulted in part from the groundwork of a Downtown team that helped recruit sponsors and support.

Race for the Cure will mesh well with a downtown that already offers Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton said.

He likened the effects of breast cancer on a family with the deterioration of a city’s core.

Cancer tears away at the fiber of a family because the mother is so often the family’s backbone, Wharton said. “And so it is when the downtown of a city begins to fade. It tears away not merely at the confines of the downtown area but the whole region. This is rebirth.’’

Registration for the Oct. 31 event is open at komenmemphis.org.