This isn't a running event, but there is a fundraising bicycle ride this Sunday in Belleville (the bicycle poker run is also this sunday, but i don't know any of the details).

http://www.chiefgetwell.com/roadtorecovery.htm

When: Sunday, June 1, 2008

Day-of-ride registration: 7-10 a.m.

Where: Central Junior High School, 1801 Central School Rd., Belleville, Illinois (Google Map)
(Take MetroLink to the Belleville Station,
then bike to the ride: Google Map)

Cost:
Adults: $25
Children 13-17: $15
Children 12 and under: $5

What you get:
• Your choice of four routes: 6, 15, 30 or 50 miles.
• Rest stops with snacks and water.
• SAG support along the route provided by The Touring Cyclist and Bicycle World.
• A special 'Chief' T-shirt for the first 500 registrants.
• Live music.

Here's the story behind the event:

Benefit will aid recovery of cyclist struck by truck

BY TERI MADDOX

News-Democrat

Cyclists from throughout the region are joining forces to help Gerry Frierdich, a 44-year-old Belleville man who was paralyzed from the chest down in a bike accident last August.

The Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society, Touring Cyclist in Fairview Heights and Frierdich's friends and family members are holding a Road to Recovery Benefit Bicycle Ride in Belleville on Sunday.

"He's a great guy," said co-organizer Sandy Gore, of Belleville, whose husband, Bud, has been friends with Frierdich since childhood. "The more we can make people aware of who he is and what he's going through, the better. We want to get him outside. He needs to be around friends and family. And we want to ease the financial burden on him. There are things that insurance won't cover."

Cyclists can cover 6, 15, 30 or 50 miles, starting at Central Junior High School in Belleville between 8 and 10 a.m. The cost is $25 for adults, $15 for ages 13 to 17 or $5 for ages 12 and under.

Frierdich plans to attend the event, which will include children's activities and live music in the schoolyard from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (lunch available for purchase).

"I can't believe how many people are coming out of the woodwork to donate money to me," said Frierdich, who returned to his Belleville home in January after spending two months in a Chicago hospital. "It's crazy."

Frierdich had been working as a photographer at Crafty Eye Photography in Belleville for 20 years when the accident occurred at 6:10 a.m. Aug. 19. He was riding a recumbent bicycle on the shoulder of South Green Mount Road in Belleville on his way to The Orchards Golf Club.

A truck veered off the road and slammed into Frierdich from behind. He was a quadriplegic when he woke up five weeks later.

Today, Frierdich has limited movement in his arms but no fine-motor skills in his hands. He rides a specially adapted stationary bike every day as part of his therapy at home.

"It's to keep my body limber and toned up," he said. "So if my hands or my legs do decide to wake up, they won't be all curled up and stiff."

Frierdich hopes to get back on the road soon with a hand-powered bicycle or "handcycle." He sees the chances of getting into another accident as minimal.

"If I would have been out there 10 minutes earlier or 10 minutes later, (the August accident) wouldn't have happened," Frierdich said. "It was a guy who fell asleep at the wheel, and he just plowed into me. What can you do to avoid that? Nothing. You've got to get back on the horse, so to speak."

Cyclists can register for the Road to Recovery Benefit Bike Ride in advance at www.chiefgetwell.com or at Central Junior High School, 1801 Central School Road, beginning at 7 a.m. Sunday with complimentary juice and donuts.

Cyclists are required to wear helmets. Van support will be available until 3 p.m. For more information, call Dawn Weber at 398-6800 or dawnw@touringcyclist.com, or Roger Kramer at 239-2793 or bike2eat@rogerkramercycling.org.

Two other benefits are being held this weekend to help metro-east residents in need.

Poker run in Mascoutah

A poker run and raffle for a 50-inch plasma TV set on Saturday will help Jessica Baker, a Mascoutah woman who was severely injured in a car accident over the winter.

The poker run will start at 11 a.m. at the Juicy Peanut (check-in at 10) and end at Scheve Park in Mascoutah with a pig roast, beer tent, music and door prizes. The cost is $10 per poker hand with five stops. For more information, call Lonnie at 660-8473 or Dawn at 830-0652.

Barbecue in Marine

"A Day for Evan!" will help the family of 2-year-old Evan Howell, of Marine, who is battling eye cancer.

Activities from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday will include a barbecue, pony rides, face painting, a petting zoo, juggler and raffle at Marine Fireman's Park, off Illinois 143. For more information, call Kelly Tracy at 520-8919. Donations also can be send to Team Evan at Bradford Bank in Marine.