COUNTYWIDE : Cancer Society to Hold Benefit Race

The Ventura chapter of the American Cancer Society has scheduled a five-mile non-competitive race for June 2, when participants will walk, run or roll on wheels to help raise money for cancer research.

The event, titled Making Strides Against Cancer, was created by cancer patients to celebrate the reality that cancer can be fought and beaten, said Sharon Satterfield, a chapter spokeswoman.

“It’s a fun event,” she said, “not real strenuous, where someone who is non-competitive can enter.”

Roller skates, wheelchairs, skateboards and strollers will be allowed to enter the race, but not bicycles or motorized bikes.

The fund-raiser will be held at two locations: California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks and Ventura Harbor, on the grassy area near the Ventura Yacht Club. Registration is $5 and begins at 8 a.m. The race will start at 9 a.m.

Participants can raise money by getting sponsors to support them for each mile or by asking friends to donate lump sums. Organizers anticipate that most of the money will come from participants’ registration fees, Satterfield said.