Come to Downtown Washington, Exercise, Win Prizes, and Support Lifesaving Marrow Donation.

The Marrow Foundation invites all runners and walkers to come to the Capitol Hill area Saturday, October 26, 2002 for the fifth annual 3M 5K: Racing to Save Lives Race and Fun Walk. The certified USATF 5K course begins and ends at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Independence Avenue and 3rd Street, SW. Registration will take place from 7:30 - 8:45 am; start time is 9:00 am.

The 3M 5K: Racing to Save Lives features both a ChampionChip timed race and a fun walk on a unique downtown Washington, D.C. course. Open to all ages and fitness levels, the event offers ten-year increment age groups to 90 years and above, team competitions, commemorative t-shirts, a post-race brunch, and more than 150 prizes. Pets are welcome. All proceeds benefit The Marrow Foundation and its Brianna Haley Fund for Minority Marrow Donor Education and Recruitment.

To participate, call The Marrow Foundation at 202-638-6601, go to www.themarrowfoundation.org or www.runwashington.com, or register the day of the event.

Pre-registration and packet pick-up will also take place Friday, October 25, 10 am - 7 pm at the National Council of Negro Women Headquarters, 633 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. On-site registration and packet pick-up begins at 7:30 a.m.; cost is $18 to pre- register or $20 race day.

The Marrow Foundation, organizer of this lifesaving event, works with the National Marrow Donor Program to facilitate unrelated marrow and blood stem cell transplants for patients with life- threatening diseases, such as leukemia, who do not have matching donors in their families. The purpose of the 3M 5K: Racing to Save Lives is to educate the public about the lifesaving treatment option of unrelated marrow and blood stem cell transplantation and recruit volunteers to join the national Registry of potential donors.

This year's goal is to raise $150,000, which will fund programs to help increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the Registry. A recognized leader in corporate citizenship, 3M returns as the title sponsor of the 3M 5K: Racing to Save Lives.

Since the 3M 5K: Racing to Save Lives Race and Fun Walk was launched in 1998, more than 4,000 people have participated and The Marrow Foundation has raised more than $300,000 for The Brianna Haley Fund for Minority Donor Recruitment.

In addition to the race and fun walk, a community marrow recruitment drive will take place with free tissue-typing for the first 300 volunteers to join the national Registry. For complete details about marrow donation and joining the Registry, call 1-800-MARROW-2 or go to www.marrow.org.

The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is committed to its mission to extend and improve life through innovative stem cell therapies. As of August 31, 2002, the NMDP has facilitated nearly 15,000 transplants throughout the world for patients with life-threatening diseases such as leukemia and aplastic anemia, as well as certain immune system and genetic disorders. The NMDP is the only organization that offers searching patients who do not have suitable family donors a single point of access for all three types of stem cells used in transplantation: marrow, peripheral blood, and umbilical cord blood. Through its extensive U.S. and international Network, the NMDP manages the largest and most diverse Registry of volunteer donors, including more than 20,000 cord blood units. Matching donors to patients is only part of NMDP's lifesaving mission. The NMDP also provides support for patients and physicians and conducts research aimed at increasing opportunities for and improving the outcomes of stem cell transplants.

Full details of the event, including a course map, can be found on the race Web site.

To learn more about becoming a marrow or blood stem cell donor, donating umbilical cord blood, and other ways to help, please call 1-800-MARROW-2 or visit online at www.marrow.org. The Marrow Foundation was established in 1991 by Admiral E.R. Zumwalt, Jr., to raise private support for the work of the NMDP. The Foundation's goals are to sponsor research to improve the understanding and outcome of marrow and blood stem cell transplantation worldwide, to assist patients with financial need in the process of searching the Registry for a marrow match, and to help increase the diversity of the Registry. To find out about making a financial contribution, contact the Foundation at (202) 638-6601 or online at www.themarrowfoundation.org.