The YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge, South Amboy and the YMCA at the Piscataway Community Center will host its annual Janice Garbolino Memorial 5K Run/Walk on Sunday, April 21, 2024. The event will take place at Roosevelt Park in Edison.
Registration is now open, and participants can also register on the morning of the event. The run/walk will be held rain or shine. It will begin promptly at 8:30 A.M. with post-race awards at 9:30 A.M.
This run/walk is held each year in memory of Janice Garbolino, the former Health and Wellness Director of the Metuchen Branch YMCA, who lost her battle with breast cancer in 2002. This event supports the YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge & South Amboy in providing a free exercise program for cancer survivors called LIVESTRONG® at the YMCA.
The 12-week exercise program meets twice weekly and is offered free to cancer survivors.
“We’ll take somebody who has been diagnosed with cancer at any point so long as they never did the program,” says Health & Wellness Director Hannah Thomas. “The goal is just to focus on improving cardio-health, balance and muscular strength.”
Those interested in enrolling in LIVESTRONG® at the YMCA can contact hannah.thomas@ymcaofmewsa.org. Those interested in participating in the 5K Run/Walk can register online at ymcaofmewsa.org/5k or register in-person.
About the LiveSTRONG® Program at the YMCA
In 2009, the YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge & South Amboy began the LiveSTRONG® Program, a physical activity and well-being program designed to help adult cancer survivors reclaim their total health. Almost a thousand people have benefited from this life-changing program as they traveled on their journey back to health and wellness. Participants work with Y staff trained in supportive cancer care to safely achieve their goals such as building muscle mass and strength; increasing flexibility and endurance; and improving confidence and self-esteem. By focusing on the whole person and not the disease, LiveSTRONG® at the YMCA is helping people move beyond cancer in spirit, mind and body.
The YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge, South Amboy and the YMCA at the Piscataway Community Center is a charitable, 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization devoted to supporting individuals and families—regardless of age, income or background—in their quest to realize their full potential through programs and services that foster youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Each day we serve over 6,000 YMCA members and 1,000 children in childcare in five communities throughout Middlesex County. The YMCA of MEWSA has the long-standing relationships and physical presence not just to promise, but to deliver, lasting personal and social change.