Team preps for 3rd annual Fuce 5K event in Metuchen

METUCHEN — The third annual Fuce 5K Family Fun Run/Walk, which raises money in the memory of late borough resident Michael Fuccile, will be held June 18.

The event is sponsored by the nonprofit Fuccile Foundation, which raises money for local families in need.

“Last year’s event exceeded our expectations. We welcomed over 650 participants and raised $30,000 for three area families, the Almeida Family, with 8-year-old Emily, who has battled cancer; the McGuiness Family, with 10-year-old Danny, who lost his fight against cystic fibrosis; and the Gossiaux Family, with teenager Maggie, who battles non- Hodgkin lymphoma,” said Michael Bradley, newly named race director for the 2011 event.

“I am looking forward to heading up the event. We are also lucky to have longtime active Metuchen resident James Schleck joining the Fuccile Foundation and Race Committee this year,” Bradley said.

The race will continue to be dedicated to the memory of Michael Fuccile, who was murdered on his way to work on Sept. 4, 2008, in Jersey City. He was 36. He left behind his wife of 10 years, Nancy, and three children, Michael, 9, Jack, 7 and Brooke, 5. Michael played an active role in his community and his children’s lives. To learn more about him, visit the website Fuce5.com/Mike.

The Fuce 5K will be held at 8:30 a.m. June 18. The course will begin and end at the Pearl Street parking lot in downtown Metuchen and will wind race participants through the community. Racers can register in advance online at www.fuce5.com or by filling out the registration forms found at Metuchen merchants such as Runner’s High and mailing them to Fuce 5 Fund, P.O. Box 453, Metuchen, NJ 08840. Families can also register on race day from 7 to 8 a.m. Early registrants will receive a complimentary race T-shirt.

For more information regarding the race, sponsorship opportunities or volunteering, contact the committee at www.fuce5.com. The race committee members, in addition to Bradley and Schleck, are Sally Ayotte, Scott Brooks, Stacey Derector, Jay Galeota and Nancy Fuccile.