Saturday Morning Is 2nd Annual Jalen & Breanna Thayer Memorial 5K Run/Walk @ Patrick Henry Elem. School...And YOU Can Be Part Of It, Here's How

Registration begins at 7 a.m. and the events get underway at 8:00 a.m. Saturday June 9 at Patrick Henry Elementary School, 3720 Canehill Ave. one block south of Heartwell Park in East Long Beach.

Saturday events include a 5K Run/Walk, 1 Mile Run/Walk, Kids 1K Run, Toddler Trot Lollipop Run and Family Fun Games. There's a registration form available online. To download it, click here and then bring it to Saturday morning's events. Please arrive 1 hour before your race to allow ample time to register (race times below).

LBReport.com LIVE webcast coverage begins at 7 a.m. with an emotional torch run for familymembers to launch the morning's events. Race event times are below:

7am-8am: Registration
8am: National Anthem, Welcome, Musical Performance
8:15 am: Toddler Trot, raffle, game
8:30 am: Kids 1K Run, Awards, raffle, games
8:45 am: Mile Run/Walk, Awards, raffle, games
9:15 am: Male 5K Run, Awards, raffle, games
10:00 am: Female 5K Run, Coed 5K Walk,
11:00 am: raffle, games, grand prizes

The legacy mural at Patrick Henry dedicated to Jalen and Breanna, spring 2011

The organization Have Faith Be Strong was established by Lance and Jennifer Thayer to honor and remember their children Breanna (4) and Jalen (15), both of whom lost their lives to brain cancer.

On their Facebook page, the group says:

The purpose of the Jalen & Breanna Thayer Memorial Run/Walk is to #1 remember and honor Breanna & Jalen and everything they went through, #2 bring awareness to childhood cancer and it's devasting effects on children and their families, #3 r...aise funds for Have Faith Be Strong and the two schools that Jalen attended (Patrick Henry and Newcomb Academy), #4 challenge youself! appreciate that you are alive, well and are able to do the things that many sick children are no longer able to do, like run or walk.

Breanna and Jalen

In an event flier, organizers say:

Newcomb Academy will keep all pre-registration entry fees collected from Newcomb prior to the race. Fees should go into a special account to fund the Jalen Thayer Memorial Scholarship and a Breanna Thayer Memorial Scholarship to deserving Newcomb Academy students. If there are additional funds remaining they can be requested to help fund school sports and music/band.

Patrick Henry will keep all pre-registration entry fees collected from Patrick Henry and race day registration entry fees. Fees should go into a special account to fund the Jalen Thayer Memorial Scholarship and a Breanna Thayer Memorial Scholarship to deserving Patrick Henry students. If there are additional funds remaining they can be requested to help fund school sports and music/band.

Have Faith Be Strong will keep all proceeds from concessions. Have Faith Be Strong is a memorial foundation established in honor and memory of Jalen and Breanna Thayer. The mission of Have Faith Be Strong is to serve children diagnosed with cancer (and other life-threatening illnesses) and their families as they go through their struggles together.

The group Have Faith, Be Strong has a Facebook page (here) that says it's in the process of establishing non-profit status and 501(c)(3) federal tax exemption status. Saturday's event will raise funds for the two schools that Jalen attended (Henry Elementary and Newcomb Academy).

Organizers say it's an opportunity for participants to appreciate that they are "alive, well and are able to do the things that many sick children are no longer able to do, like run or walk."

Thayer family as Breanna prepares to undergo radiation treatments, 2003. Mom Jennifer is standing alongside Jalen.

Jalen leaping hurdles, 2007. Jalen was also a scholar, a straight A student.

March, 2011: Family before the Celebration of Life at Henry Elementary School. Left to right: Jennifer Thayer, Scott Thayer, Jalen Thayer, Matthew Thayer, Lance F. Thayer and Michelle Thayer.

In a recent email update, parents Lance and Jennifer Thayer wrote:

Jalen's sixteenth birthday was January 10 and Breanna's eleventh birthday was March 8. They are the reason for Have Faith Be Strong. Breanna inspired Jalen and the rest of our family to start awareness and charity for pediatric cancer. Jalen came up with the slogan Have Faith Be Strong and brought it to the next level.

We pledge to continue the work that they started and will do everything possible to help other children diagnosed with cancer (and other life threatening illnesses) along with their families as they go through their struggle together.

We want you all to know how important this is to us. It is the most important thing in our lives, after taking care of our family. We continue to walk by faith, not by sight! We will be taking a leap of faith in returning to Southern California to make things happen...

...Jalen's favorite song was Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. When things got tough, Jalen would sing the lyrics don't worry, about a thing, cause every little thing is gonna be alright. He told us everything is gonna be alright after he was told that there was nothing more that can be done. He inspires us to believe that we can accomplish anything...

To learn that brain cancer has struck not just one, but two of one's children, is simply unimaginable. Lance and Jennifer Thayer and their family have undergone the unimaginable and shown incredible strength throughout all of this. We invite our readers to be part of their efforts to remember and honor Breanna and Jalen this Saturday morning.

A registration form is on this link, click here...and we'll see you at Henry Elementary School on Saturday morning, June 9.