Sweet Medical Center looking for sponsors to beat down diabetes

Sweet Medical Center will be hosting its premier Diabetes Beat Down Race Oct. 19 at the Blaine County Fairgrounds and is looking for donations, volunteers and sponsors for the event.

Event organizer and Sweet Medical Center Nurse Practitioner Lindsay Rucinsky said Type 1 and 2 diabetes in Montana are a big issue and the event is to promote awareness as well as support fighting diabetes. 

She added that Montana has about 96,000 people with diabetes, approximately 10.9 percent of the adult population in the state, predominantly Type 2.

The state also has more than 279,000 more people with pre-diabetes, people with high glucose levels but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. 

“With the increase in childhood obesity, we are seeing an even larger number of Type 2 diabetes surfacing at even younger ages,” she said. “It’s scary.”

The race will have three components, a 1-mile competitive run and fun run, and 3-mile and 5-mile competitively timed runs, she said. The event will also have vendors.

She said that they already have a number of vendors for the event, such as Gary & Leo’s Fresh Food, Albertsons, Town Pump and Bearly Square Quilting. The event is still looking for sponsors and the deadline for people who are interested in sponsoring the event is Saturday, Sept. 20.

Everyone who sponsors the event will also have their names listed on the back of the event T-shirts, which will be given to every participant, she said.

She added that people are also welcome to volunteer or donate to the event.

People who are interested in sponsoring the event, volunteering or donating can find more information on the event’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/2420406388188366/?active_tab=discussion or http://bit.ly/2m2IqzZ or on the event website at https://runsignup.com/Race/MT/Chinook/DiabetesBeatdown?fbclid=IwAR1yEVm_8uGXpGxQINfw53gOCA-9CDn7gK6ZJ77VBxFni_D_FpLTxtATPmU or http://bit.ly/2kGOhLk .

People who are interested in sponsoring the event can also call the Sweet Medical Center at 357-2294 and ask to speak to Nora.