Thousands race in Central Park to fight lung cancer

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) – Some 8,000 runners zipped through Central Park Sunday morning in a race to fight lung cancer. 

The race, Run as One 4 Mile, raises awareness for lung cancer. It’s hosted by NYRR and presented by JPMorgan Chase and the Thomas G Labrecque Foundation.

The race honors former Chase Manhattan Bank chairman Tom Labrecque, who “died of lung cancer at the young age of 62 and he’d never smoked in his entire life,” according to Rob Simmelkjaer, CEO of NYRR.

“This is really to raise awareness. We raise funds and awareness and to let people know this is one of the leading killers of cancer and you don’t even have to smoke to get it,” Simmelkjaer said. 

According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer accounts for about one in five of all cancer deaths. 

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