A 5K was held at Archbishop Stepinac High School to raise awareness and fundraise for the ALS Therapy Development Institute.

Event organizers say the institute is the largest drug discovery lab focused on curing the disease. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a degenerative disease that attacks the person’s nervous system.

Over 200 racers participated in total. “One of my mom’s coworkers was diagnosed with ALS so it’s pretty personal,” said James Lyons, an event organizer. “We know how underrepresented the disease is in our community so we decided that not only will this event help raise money, but it will also help raise awareness.”