They’ll let you run for the cure. They’ll let you jog for thecure. They’ll even let you walk for it.

Just bring $20 to invest in the research to fight cystic fibrosis,and King’s Daughters Medical Center will probably let you sitaround in the shade for the cure, too.

However it gets done, the hospital will host an inaugural 10KWalk/Run to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation onSaturday, challenging participants to a run, jog, walk or otherwiseattempt at a 6.2-mile circuit around downtown Brookhaven. The walkwill step off at 8 a.m. from Railroad Park, meander throughdowntown toward Exchange Club Park and eventually arrive back atthe tracks.

“Come prepared to walk,” said Amy Case, KDMC nurse and eventorganizer. “We designed the loop where it comes back by the park,so if people are worried they can’t finish, they can cut across andget back to the start line.”

Case said organizers are hoping to break the $2,000 mark with thefundraiser. With more than 160 participants already signed up, thegoal will likely be felled.

All proceeds from the $20 admission fee will be handed over to theJackson chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which serves thenational organization to help raise money for research on thedisease to hopefully find a cure one day.

According to the CFF, cystic fibrosis affects 70,000 peopleworldwide, with 30,000 of those cases – almost half – occurring inthe United States.

The disease is inherited and affects the respiratory and digestivesystems. It’s brought on by a defective gene that will cause thebody to produce large amounts of unusually thick, sticky mucus thatcan clog lungs, creating chronic infections; and obstruct thepancreas, stopping the production of enzymes that help the bodybreak down and absorb food.

More than 70 percent of cystic fibrosis patients are diagnosed byage 2. Symptoms of the disease include very salty skin, frequentlung infections and poor growth or weight gain, despite a goodappetite.

People diagnosed with cystic fibrosis have an average lifeexpectancy that extends only into the 30s. That’s a greatimprovement since the 1950s, when most patients died beforecompleting elementary school.

More than 1,000 new cases of cystic fibrosis are diagnosed everyyear.

It happens in Brookhaven, too. Some of the local patients will beout Saturday, walking to find the cure.

“We’ve had several patients here. They’re in and out of thehospital a good bit so we get to know them,” Case said. “This is acommunity problem and we need community support to find a cure. Younever know when it could be somebody you know.”