HUNTSVILLE – Runners seeking an interesting course have to look no further than Cummings Research Park for the 13th annual Double Helix Dash 5K and one-mile twilight run.
The April 2 event is hosted by HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. The 5K steps off 5:30 p.m. at 601 Genome Way, loops through Cummings Research Park, and returns to HudsonAlpha’s campus by way of a scenic pathway designed to resemble a double helix, the twisted ladder shape of DNA. The twilight run will begin and end in front of HudsonAlpha.
The Double Helix Dash is billed as a unique mid-week race that brings together runners, walkers, and supporters from across the Huntsville community. The race benefits the Institute’s childhood genetic disorder research programs and the Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine.
Every year, two out of every 100 children are born with an intellectual or physical disability or delay. Thousands of families in Alabama are impacted by these struggles. HudsonAlpha’s research, led by HudsonAlpha Faculty Investigator Dr. Greg Cooper and his lab, help hundreds of children with these conditions to find answers to their undiagnosed diseases and enables physicians caring for these children to prescribe more effective treatments.
The race also supports the Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine, a nonprofit medical clinic established to diagnose patients with undiagnosed and misdiagnosed diseases. Adult and pediatric patients are seen by a clinical geneticist who evaluates their symptoms and determines whether genetic testing is appropriate. The data found from those tests is interpreted to identify variants or changes in the DNA linked to disease.
To register for either the 5K or one-mile run, visit doublehelixdash.org. Registration is available for individuals and teams, and donations in support of the race are also accepted.
Prizes for the top three times will be awarded after the 5K. The cost is $25 for the 5K and $15 for the 1-mile twilight run if participants register for early-bird pricing by March 4. Afterward, the cost for the 5K is $35 and $20 for the 1-mile run.
All proceeds benefit HudsonAlpha’s childhood genetic disorder research programs and the Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine.
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