Venue Change: Saturday’s Get Your Rear Run/Walk Moved to YMCA

Due to a stormy forecast for Saturday, March 12, Get Your Rear In Gear – Arkansas is relocating to an indoor venue for this family-friendly event.

The 2.5-mile Family Fun Run and Walk will be held at Hot Springs YMCA (130 Werner St.), next door to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs.

Get Your Rear In Gear – Arkansas is planned to raise awareness and encourage healthy lifestyles and screening for colorectal cancer, the nation’s No. 2 cancer killer. The morning will also provide opportunities for celebration of survivors and support for caregivers and those who may have been left behind.

Activities will begin at 10 a.m. Registration and more information is available online at www.CHIStVincent.com/RearInGear. Race day registration is also available at the event, which is sponsored by CHI St. Vincent.


Nearly 300 participants are expected to attend the Get Your Rear in Gear® 2½ Mile Family Fun Run/Walk in Hot Springs on Saturday, March 12 at CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs. This Family Fun Run/Adventure Walk includes a Health Fair to raise awareness and encourage screening for colorectal cancer, the nation’s No. 2 cancer killer. The day will include opportunities for celebration of the survivors, and support for caregivers and those who may have been left behind.

Get Your Rear in Gear® events are produced and coordinated by the Colon Cancer Coalition, a national organization that hosts over 50 run/walk events across the country to educate and raise funds for colon cancer screening and prevention.

“We know how to detect and prevent colon cancer when it is discovered in its earliest and most treatable stages,” says Anne Carlson, executive director for the Colon Cancer Coalition. “By placing our focus on funding programs that work to increase screening rates and educating the public about the signs and symptoms, we look to prevent this disease before it happens. Arkansas’s colorectal cancer screening rate is 59%, and the state currently ranks as number 46 in the nation for the number of people who have been screened, meaning more than 41% of the population eligible for screening are not being proactive and taking care of their health. By working with partners in the local community, we hope to encourage change and increase the local rates to at least 80% by the year 2018.”

Local event director Nikol Hamilton describes why she chose to organize a Get Your Rear in Gear® event in Arkansas. “I firmly believe that raising awareness and educating people about colon cancer screening is the most powerful tool we have to fight this disease here in Arkansas. After losing my husband to colon cancer at 35-years-old in 2010, I have committed to spread the message about early detection and screening, and genetic testing. I’m on a mission to raise our state screening rate, mentor other advocates, and help save lives across Arkansas.”

Just the facts about colon cancer:

  • One in 20 Americans will be diagnosed with colon cancer during their lifetime.
  • 9 out of 10 patients will survive 5+ years when colon cancer is caught in early (localized) stages.
  • The Journal of the American Medical Association estimates a 90 percent increase in colon cancer and a 124 percent increase in rectal cancer diagnoses in young people by 2030.

On Saturday, March 12, Get Your Rear in Gear – Arkansas activities will begin at 10 a.m. with the Opening Ceremony. The 2½ Mile Run and Walk will follow at 10:15 a.m. Registration information is available online at ColonCancerCoalition.org/Arkansas. Race day registration is available at the event.

Sponsors include CHI St. Vincent, Dunkin Donuts, Chick-Fil-A, Little Caesar, Mountain Valley Water, The Yoga Place, KLAZ 105.9, Talk of the Town Radio, Clif Bars, Inc and more pending! Information about volunteering, fundraising, sponsoring an event or forming a team is also posted on the website or you can contact Nikol Hamilton [email protected]