RunTough - An Afternoon of Fun For the Whole Family!

Rate Goes up After September 4!

Don’t miss this signature Saline community event that offers a fun day for the whole family!

On Sunday, September 29, we will be hosting the 11th annual RunTough for ChadTough Defeat DIPG, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. We hold this event every September to celebrate our son Chad’s birthday (September 26) and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Chad passed away in 2015 at the age of 5 from brain cancer, and the event honors him, other families in the fight, and the entire Saline community, which has supported our efforts against the deadliest form of childhood cancer from the very beginning.

We hope you’ll join us at Saline Hornet Stadium for an incredible day that is so much more than a race — it’s a celebration of friends, family, and neighbors. Race options include a 5K, a 1M Fun Run, and an adorable Tot Race. This year, for the first time, we have incorporated a Charity Fair, welcoming other nonprofits and giving them the opportunity to share all they are doing in the community. Our post-race, free Family Fun Zone sponsored by Meijer will once again include a bounce house, face painting, games, and live music. If you can’t attend in person, you can sign up virtually, and we’ll mail you a shirt. You can participate however and wherever you’d like!

If you’re not familiar with my family’s story or how this event came to be, it is a story of how one small community came together to change the future of childhood brain cancer.

Ten years ago this month, just 3 days before his 4th birthday, we received the devastating news that our youngest son, Chad, had a deadly brain tumor called DIPG. At the time, radiation was the only standard treatment available, so we combined it with a clinical trial in New York City, hoping to gain as many precious "bonus" days with Chad as possible. But deep down, we knew time was running out. The harsh reality was that there simply hadn’t been enough research done on DIPG, and there was nothing we could do to save him. Chad lived exactly 14 months from his diagnosis and passed away on November 23, 2015, at just 5 years old.

Throughout Chad’s illness, there were moments when I couldn’t even find the strength to get out of bed. It was an incredibly dark time for our family. But something had happened that changed our lives — and the future of childhood brain cancer — forever.

A few weeks after Chad’s diagnosis, our neighbors came together to organize RunTough, a fun run in Chad’s honor. That cold morning, so many people showed up to lend their support. Chad was there, too, though he wasn’t happy until he was allowed to sit in the cabin of a fire truck, where he loved pulling the horn to startle runners passing by!

Chad sparked a powerful awareness in so many people about the urgent need to fight childhood cancer. My husband, Jason, and I realized it was our responsibility to carry on the mission Chad had unknowingly begun — to inspire others to care about this disease and to raise the funds necessary to find a cure.

RunTough was the beginning of what would eventually become the ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation. Since then, we’ve funded more than $33 million for research, giving hope to families who are now walking in our shoes. Thanks to these efforts, researchers are making frequent discoveries that are bringing us closer to a cure. While we couldn’t save our son, we are determined to ensure that one day, children like Chad will have the bright, happy futures they deserve.

And it all started with the Saline community.

Your support matters! If you’ve ever participated in RunTough, please come back! If you’ve never joined us for this fun, family-friendly event, we encourage you to give it a try.

By coming together, this community launched the largest childhood brain cancer foundation in the US. While we’ve made significant progress toward a cure, there’s still a lot more work to do. So please join us for this very special year!

Sign up by September 4th to get a discounted rate. Spread the word and invite a friend. Together, we can change the future for children fighting this disease!