Washington, DC – July 20, 2010 – On Sunday, September 19, the 7th annual Super H 5K Run, Walk & Wheel Race will be held at the Tysons Corner Sport & Health Club in McLean, VA (8250 Greensboro Dr., McLean, VA 22102). Registration begins at 7 a.m., the race starts at 8 a.m., and the post-race party/awards ceremony featuring Chicken Out Rotisserie cuisine, entertainment, and prizes, begins at 9 a.m.
The first-ever Super H 5K Run was organized in 2004 by the wife, children and friends of Harry Freedman, an accomplished athlete who lost his left leg in a worksite accident. The purpose of the race was to outfit Harry – ‘Super H’ himself - with state-of-the-art sport prosthetic legs. In just a few short years, the event has gained national attention and has grown into the Super H 5K Run, Walk & Wheel, a physical feat open to those of quite diverse abilities—runners, walkers, hand cyclists, moms pushing strollers and those punching the rims of sleek, aerodynamic racing wheelchairs.
Today, the event continues to raise substantial funds for the NRH/DC Chapter of BlazeSports America, a national, community based adaptive sports program for children and adults with physical disabilities. It also helps aid NRH’s affiliation with the U.S. Paralympics and a program helping U.S. wounded veterans return to the community through various sports programs for soldiers with disabilities. This year, the race proceeds will provide financial support for adaptive equipment, facilities rental, competition travel and other expenses. In addition, the Super H race will enable NRH BlazeSports teams to host regular clinics to open the world of sports to individuals with disabilities.
“So many people were there to help me in rebuilding my life,” said Freedman. “I want them to know how important it was to me, and we want to make sure there is someone there to help the children and adults with disabilities who need us now.”
National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) is a private, not-for-profit facility located in Northwest Washington, D.C. NRH’s services are designed specifically for the rehabilitation of individuals with disabling injuries and illnesses such as stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury and disease, arthritis, amputations, post-polio syndrome, chronic pain, back and neck pain, occupational injuries, cancer and cardiac disease that require medical rehabilitation, and other neurological and orthopedic conditions. NRH admits approximately 2,200 inpatients annually, has appeared on the “Best Hospitals” list in U.S. News & World Report for 16 consecutive years and is currently ranked among the top hospitals in medical rehabilitation in America. NRH has the only CARF accredited specialty program for both Spinal Cord Injury and Stroke in the region. In addition, NRH’s Spinal Cord Injury Program has been designated one of only 14 Model SCI Systems of care in the country by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), a part of the Department of Education. NRH is a proud member of MedStar Health.