For the first time in 22 years, students, faculty and members of the community will participate in the traditional Domer Run and Walk in honor of a specific individual.
This year the event is being held in memory of Barbara Ann Link, who battled ovarian cancer before passing away last November.
Link was one of the first female graduates of Notre Dame and the wife of David Link, dean emeritus of the Notre Dame Law School.
"[The Domer Run] is a more traditional event that started as a campus run for students," Bill Reagan, RecSports' assistant director of instruction, special event and family programming said. The event originated as an activity for students to participate in during one away-game weekend during football season. When RecSports began to sponsor the event in partnership with the Alumni Association in 1997, however, it evolved into a fundraiser for cancer awareness and aid programs.
This year, all proceeds will go to organizations that deal with ovarian cancer in Link's honor.
All three races that comprise the run - the three and six mile runs and the two mile walk - begin at the north end of the stadium and end at Library Quad.
Over its 22-year evolution, a breakfast for the runners has been added. After completing the course, participants are invited to a pancake breakfast under a tent on Library Quad, where awards will be distributed to the winners of the categories each race.
There are awards for male and female divisions in each race, and in each gender subset there is an award for the undergraduate, graduate student and faculty and staff winners.
The money raised from the registration fees of the participants and donations by local organizations is collected and distributed by the Alumni Association to local organizations, like the Women's Cancer Task Force.
A $6 pre-registration is available until 5 p.m. today. Participants can also register for $10 fee at 10 a.m. Saturday before the race begins, under the tent located on Library Quad.
These fees include the pancake breakfast and t-shirt that participants are awarded for completing the course.
Participants can begin arriving at the tent on Library Quad at 10 a.m., with the races starting promptly at 11 a.m.
