2/27/2009 11:22:00 AM HEALTH & FITNESS: Ovarian Cycle Kick-Off
Woodfire Grill will host the March 4 Kick-off of Ovarian Cycle from 6 to 8 p.m. The restaurant at 1782 Cheshire Bridge Road will provide free appetizers and a drink to anyone who'd like to register for the annual wellness program and fundraiser fighting ovarian cancer.
Training for the sixth annual event begins March 14. Sign up now so you'll be prepared for the final, 100-mile, indoor bike ride Saturday, April 25.
So far, the organization has donated $530,000 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund and the Ovarian Cancer Institute at Georgia Tech. Ovarian Cycle is the brainchild of fitness instructor Bethany Diamond, who was bereft after losing her best friend, Debbie Flamm, to ovarian cancer. "I felt so helpless when Debbie died. She was only 43 and left two teenagers. I had to do something, so what better way to raise funds than by staying in shape?"
With a small group of volunteers and donated office equipment, she quickly put together the first event in 2004, just months after Flamm's death. Ovarian Cycle then solicited businesses to donate gym space, equipment and funding to make this day possible.
Last year Ovarian Cycle spread to two more cities: Birmingham and Broomfield, Colo. To register or contribute, visit www.ovariancycle.org.
"If you can't ride the entire six hours, create a team ride," suggests Diamond. "Some of us ride for someone we've lost; others ride because it's a way to act, to do something in the face of tragedy."
