Step Beyond Celiac 5K Expanding to 5 Cities

With each new research grant awarded and science plan strategy implemented, Beyond Celiac steps closer to new treatments and a cure for celiac disease. This year, we are hosting Step Beyond Celiac 5K events in five major cities to bring together people with celiac disease and their friends and family to support these important research efforts.

The Step Beyond Celiac 5K series began as just one event in Kansas City, KS, in 2017, and expanded to Dallas and Philadelphia in 2019. We’ve hosted more than 3,000 participants and raised over $220,000 in just three years at these events. That money supports our efforts to accelerate research for treatments and a cure for celiac disease.

For 2020, the Step Beyond Celiac 5K schedule has grown to five cities and launches with a Virtual 5K throughout the month of May. The full 2020 roster of events includes:

• May 1-31 – Virtual 5K – Registration now open!
• May 31 –  Philadelphia at FDR Park – Registration now open!
• August 9 – Boston at Franklin Park
• September 13 – Kansas City, MO at Berkley Riverfront
• October 10 – Dallas at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve
• October 18 – Denver at Auraria Higher Education Center (in conjunction with Nourished Festival)

Step Beyond Celiac 5Ks are events for the entire family and feature local businesses and community-based organizations as well as gluten-free vendors as part of the fun. Individual and team registrations are available, and participants have the opportunity to receive commemorative T-shirts and gluten-free goody bags. Prizes are awarded to the top three overall male and female finishers as well as to top three male and female finishers in multiple age brackets.

“Working together with our community and hosting Step Beyond Celiac 5Ks around the country will get us that much closer to the finish line of finding a cure for celiac disease,” said Alice Bast, Beyond Celiac CEO.

Our mission is to advance research to find treatment options and ultimately a cure for celiac disease, a serious genetic autoimmune disease that affects an estimated 1 in 133 Americans, more than half of whom are still undiagnosed. The disease causes damage to the small intestine, resulting in debilitating symptoms, and if left untreated, can lead to serious long-term health problems including infertility and some types of cancer.

In 2018, we launched a strategy prioritizing investment in science. Last year, thanks in part to funds raised through the Step Beyond Celiac 5K series, we awarded close to $600,000 in grants to researchers studying some of the most promising celiac disease science!