Forget Me Not Runners to help fight Alzheimer’s Disease
Local runners have a chance to help fight Alzheimer’s Disease while doing what they love to do most as they compete in the 2022 Forget Me Not Race.
This year’s event, which takes place Saturday, April 16, starting and ending in the
Village Green shopping center, 11505 Kingston Pike, Farragut, includes two races. While it previously involved a 5K,
“we added a 10K this year,” FMN5K Race chairman/director Drew Degges of Farragut said.
The 10K will kick off at 7:30 a.m. and the 5K will start at 8 a.m., he added. “(The race) will run back through Village Green (subdivision).
As such, “there’re no main roads; there’re no greenways,” Degges said.
“Then, we’ll have some awards and will be giving out raffle prizes,” he said. “We’re going to have food trucks there — Lobster Dogs; Pop’s Ice Cream, which will be selling breakfast burritos as well; and we have Treetop Coffee (Shop).
“We’ll have B97.5 there, doing live music for everybody, and hopefully we’ll have a good turnout this year.
“We’ve already got 330 people signed up, and we’re hoping to see that number grow,” Degges added. “Last year, we raised $34,000.”
People can sign up by visiting the event’s website, www.forgetmenot5k.com, or visit runsignup.com and look up the Forget Me Not race.
To participate in the 5K, the cost is $30, and the 10K costs $40, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting the Pat Summit Foundation.
”We’re a non-profit, so everything goes there, “he added.
“We also have a virtual option for those who don’t want to compete but still want to receive a T-shirt and give back to the cause,” he said. “Our prices will increase by $5 five days before the race.
“We’ll also be taking signups at packet pickup, which will be from 12:30 to 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 15, at Fleet Feet, 11619 Parkside Drive in Turkey Creek,” Degges said. Pickup also is available the day of the race.
“We have no age limits (of participants), no requirements,” he said. “You can come out and walk; you can run; and we have the after party so you can bring your family.
“They can hang out,” Degges added. There will be things for everybody to do.”
With the race going into its 12th year, it was started by Angela Wampler, whose “daughter had a dream about a race for Alzheimer’s, and they made that dream become a reality,” he said.
Degges, 21, has been involved in the Forget Me Not Race for four years and chairman and director for the past three years.
He was inspired to get involved by his grandmother, who was afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease.
“I was in the fifth grade when my grandmother was diagnosed,” Degges recalled. “I didn’t really know what it was. I kind of explored it and, as I got older, learned more about it and watched her go through it, I learned really quickly what it was and how devastating it was.
“It’s a disease that not only impacts the individual who has it, but it also has a toll
on the family, friends and
everybody around them,” he added. “After watching that, I didn’t want to see anybody else go through that same
suffering and pain we did, so I got involved with the race through a Capstone project I had at my high school,” Degges said.
“I really enjoyed it — I’ve always had a passion for running … my whole goal is to raise awareness, as well as raise money, and hopefully find a cure.”
