{"id":239416,"date":"2025-09-19T17:18:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T17:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/239416\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T17:18:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T17:18:09","slug":"how-the-nationwide-mission-of-the-head-for-the-cure-5k-got-its-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/239416\/","title":{"rendered":"How the nationwide mission of the Head for the Cure 5K got its start"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO<\/strong> \u2013 The 12th annual Head for the Cure 5K is returning to San Antonio on Sept. 27, continuing a powerful tradition here that began in 2014, in memory of KSAT\u2019s late news director, Jim Boyle.<\/p>\n

However, the nationwide mission to raise awareness and funding to support brain cancer research got its start more than a decade before the race reached San Antonio.<\/p>\n

Matt Anthony, founder and president of the Head for the Cure Foundation, shared that his brother, Chris Anthony, was 34 years old when he was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, stage 4 brain cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was active. He was a runner. And it came out \u2014 it came from nowhere,\u201d Matt said. <\/p>\n

Before his death, Chris Anthony, who was a competitive runner, talked about raising money and awareness for brain cancer by starting a race.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few months before he passed, it was really his idea,\u201d Matt said. \u201cHe said, \u2018You know, this is a disease that is under-researched, seemingly because it\u2019s underfunded. How about if we do a 5K? Maybe we bring a little bit of attention to this disease.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris\u2019s idea eventually turned into the Head for the Cure 5K, which began in Kansas City and has now expanded to 26 cities across the country, including San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin. The San Antonio race was brought to life in 2014 after Erin Dempsey, Jim Boyle\u2019s daughter, attended the Austin event and was inspired to honor her father\u2019s legacy in her hometown.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe reached out to me and said, \u2018That was such a great experience. I want to bring Head for the Cure to San Antonio and honor my Dad,\u2019\u201d Matt said.<\/p>\n

Now, the event serves not only as a fundraiser for brain cancer research but also as a deeply personal tribute for families grieving loved ones lost to the disease.,<\/p>\n

\u201cI miss my brother, of course, and I miss him every day, but I also feel his intense presence,\u201d Matt said. \u201cChris would not want it to be about him… but his spirit, his energy, his positivity, his ordinariness, you know, that he just wanted to live. That animates everything that we do at Head for the Cure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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