Gov. Deval Patrick will be on hand on Saturday, Aug. 2, to welcome participants to the inaugural Governor Cellucci Tribute Road Race in Gov. Paul Cellucci’s hometown of Hudson. The race was established by Gov. Cellucci’s wife, Jan, and his two daughters in honor of his commitment to fund ALS research at UMass Medical School and his lifelong dedication to public service.
Race events will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a welcome to runners and walkers from Gov. Patrick. Former Gov. William Weld, along with Rhys Argeo Adams, Gov. Cellucci’s 7-year-old grandson, will get the 5K race started at 9 a.m.
More than 800 runners and walkers will travel a route through Hudson’s downtown Historic District, where the governor followed his grandfather and father into public service. The course will begin at the Hudson-Concord Elks Club, where for many years Gov. Cellucci’s father coordinated the annual Cellucci Family Picnic, and will pass directly in front of the Hudson Town Hall, where the governor began his career in public service as a Hudson selectman.
At 10 a.m., awards will be presented to the finishers by family and friends of the late Gov. Cellucci. Each race finisher will receive a unique engraved medal as a commemoration of their participation in the inaugural race. Special awards will be presented to the top finishers by Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD, Gov. Cellucci’s personal physician, with assistance from Gov. Cellucci’s grandchildren Rhys, Gabriel, Francesca and Lucia.
Gov. Cellucci created the UMass ALS Champion Fund (since renamed the UMass ALS Cellucci Fund) soon after he was diagnosed with ALS. He died in June 2013 from complications of ALS. He was 65.
The goal of the fund is to establish an endowment to seed the boldest research ideas in the interdisciplinary laboratories at UMMS under the direction of Dr. Brown, the Leo P. and Theresa M. LaChance Chair in Medical Research and chair and professor of neurology and one of the world’s foremost authorities on ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).
For more information, visit the Governor Cellucci Tribute Road Race website. Registration closes at midnight on July 30.
To learn more about the UMass ALS Cellucci Fund, visit the fund website.
Related links on UMassMedNow:
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