Kortney Rose OCEANPORT — The Kortney Rose Foundation (KRF) will host the fifth annual Kortney’s Challenge Two-Mile Fun Walk/Run on Sunday, Aug. 29, at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport.

Kortney Rose Gillette was a vivacious 9-year-old girl who attended Wolf Hill School in Oceanport. She was diagnosed with a terminal brainstem glioma and died on April 27, 2006, four months after her diagnosis with this pediatric brain cancer.

Kortney’s Challenge will be held rain or shine. All participants will receive a medal, a free goodie bag full of donated items, and awards will go to the top five overall males and females. There will be plenty of fun for the whole family, including a Dance Plus Performance Team exhibition at 9:30 a.m. Free kids’ activities start at 11:30 a.m., including pony rides, face painting, bouncer and more. Race entry also includes free grandstand admission to the racetrack.

After the challenge, the foundation is hosting a Day at the Races in a designated picnic area in conjunction with the Oceanport Policemen’s Benevolent Association. Children under age 14 are admitted free; ages 14 and over participating in Kortney’s Challenge pay $20 for food, beverage, and a racing program; ages 14 and over who are not participating in Kortney’s Challenge may purchase tickets at $25 each. Visit the website for all event information, including the link to register online for Kortney’s Challenge and to purchase tickets online for Day at the Races at www.thekortneyrosefoundation.org. To enter by mail, download entry forms as well as pledge forms.

Preregister on or before Aug. 22, when tickets will be $8 for children ages 12 and under, and $15 for ages 13 and over. Register after Aug. 22 or on the day of the race, and tickets will be $10 for children ages 12 and under, and $20 for ages 13 and over. T-shirt and bag pickup and dayof the-event registration begin at 8:30 a.m. Race starts at 10 a.m. Entry forms must be received by Aug. 22 in order to be guaranteed a T-shirt. After that date, T-shirts are while supplies last on race day.

In addition to raising money for the foundation’s mission, all of the miles walked by participants in Kortney’s Challenge will be donated to the International Brain Tumor Alliance’s (IBTA) Walk Around the World for Brain Tumors, a London-based alliance supporting brain tumor advocacy groups. Visit them at www.ibta.org.

The inaugural Kortney’s Challenge was held in September 2006. More than 500 people participated and helped to raise money that was used to build “Kortney’s Playground” at Wolf Hill School, where Kortney was a third-grader. In 2007, the Kortney Rose Foundation was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) to raise money for pediatric brain cancer research and awareness. The foundation has donated $260,000 in the past three years to the pediatric brain tumor research program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), specifically to be used in CHOP’s Large-Scale Genomics Project, which will hunt down the genes behind brain tumors with the goals of using gene knowledge to guide therapy, and devise new tests and treatments. KRF is also contributing to The Children’s Brain Tumor Biorepository at CHOP, which collects biospecimens reflecting the molecular diversity of all pediatric brain tumors.

According to KRF, pediatric brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in individuals 20 and under.

If you would like more information about the Kortney Rose Foundation, call Kristen Gillette at 732-222-1491, email kortneyroseorg@aol.com or visit www.TheKortneyRoseFoundation.org.