Gutrunners Race Through Chicago for Digestive Wellness

Procter & Gamble Sponsors Race to Raise Awareness around Gastrointestinal Health

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Apr 28, 2011, 10:55 ET

CINCINNATI, April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) today announced its sponsorship of the 2nd annual Gutrunners™ 5K Run/1 Mile Walk, taking place Sunday, May 8, 2011, in Chicago, Ill. In the U.S., every three minutes someone is diagnosed with colon cancer and every 10 minutes someone dies from colon cancer. Gutrunners, a not-for-profit charity, is dedicated to improving digestive health in the community through education and exercise.

Gutrunners founder Robynne K. Chutkan, M.D., assistant professor at Georgetown University Hospital and founder and medical director of Digestive Center for Women, LLC, hopes the charity will do for digestive diseases what Team In Training has done for leukemia and lymphoma: raise money for research, education and resources. She feels strongly that a better diet and increased exercise has a large role in preventing gastrointestinal illness.

"Through Gutrunners, I wanted to send the message that exercise and proper nutrition are very powerful tools for disease prevention," says Dr. Chutkan. "At the end of the day, race participants see that they have not only improved their own health, but the funds they have raised could improve someone else's."

Funds raised through Gutrunners races go directly to the colonoscopy access program, patient education, and obesity and colorectal cancer research. The mission of Gutrunners is to provide patients resources and wellness information to address obesity and digestive diseases such as Crohn's disease, chronic constipation, IBS, and colon cancer.

"As a sponsor of this important race, we hope to help empower consumers across the U.S. to join us in the effort to improve the health of others by increasing access to colorectal cancer screenings and supporting digestive wellness education and research," says David Lacy, Marketing Director, Procter & Gamble.

The Gutrunners 5K Run/1 Mile Walk is open to all Digestive Disease Week® attendees, family members, exhibitors and Chicago-area residents. Participants will start at Soldier Field, run south on the running path to 31st Street Beach, turn around and head back north to Soldier Field.

To register for the race, visit www.gutrunners.com/payDDW2.html. Registration includes official race T-shirt, post-race breakfast, prizes and goodie bags.

In addition to Procter & Gamble, Gutrunners is also supported by The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, PENTAX, Given Imaging, and Warner Chilcott.

About P&G

Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®.

The P&G community includes approximately 127,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. Please visit www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About Gutrunners

The Gutrunners™ Foundation, a leading charitable organization dedicated to improving digestive health in the community, develops educational programs and activities that communicate our core belief that nutrition and exercise are crucial to achieving and maintaining good digestive health. Gutrunners encourages physicians and patients alike to incorporate regular exercise into their daily routine and conducts road races at national and international gastroenterology meetings, including Digestive Disease Week® and the American College of Gastroenterology. Visit www.gutrunners.com for more information.

Media Contacts:
Amy Burstyn – MSL New York – (212) 527-8854 – [email protected]
Scott Popham – P&G Digestive Wellness, External Relations – (513) 622-0219 – [email protected]
Kay Twomey – Gutrunners – (202) 270-9005 – [email protected]

SOURCE Procter & Gamble