"The Race for a Reason" now has its first title sponsor.

The eighth annual Debbie Green Memorial 5K Run/Walk for Leukemia will be brought to you by Comcast this summer on Saturday, Aug. 6.

"I'm very excited about having Comcast as a title sponsor to the Debbie Green 5K," said race director Ron Green. "I think it's a win-win situation for everybody involved.

"Comcast has really offered a lot to me to help make this a great race and to help out these children that have leukemia."

Green says the best part of it all is that Comcast wanted to sponsor the race.

"Comcast stepped up for us without me asking," Green explained. "That's the thing that excites me the most. It's nice to have someone that really wants to help you.

"It's great for the future of the event and it's great for this year. I'm just as excited as I can be about it."

There's even a possibility that the entire race will be televised by Comcast On Demand, but Green said that won't be known until July.

Applications for the race are available at area businesses Hole 'N Run, CentreTown Fitness and Play It Again Sports in Wheeling, Reynolds Memorial Fitness Center in Glen Dale, and The Body Shop in Yorkville, or online registration is available at www.debbiegreen5k.com.

Applications will also be provided to all participants of the Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic.

"If you want to get an application real quick," Green said, "sign up for the Ogden 20K races, because in the official race packets, there will be a Debbie Green application.

"I'm very thankful for the Ogden people and (race director) Howard Corcoran doing that for us. We have a good relationship, race to race.

"We all work together to make Wheeling the road racing capital of West Virginia and I definitely think it is."

With the sponsorship by Comcast, the race will also provide extra incentives for runners and walkers to participate in all the activities of the Aug. 5-6 weekend.

"Comcast is going to be able to help us give more to the participants and help our race continue to grow and even raise more money this year than we have in the past,'' Green explained.

"This year we're hosting the 5K national championship race for the Road Runners Club of America (for the second straight year), which is big, but we also have prize money for the first time this year which has been donated by Comcast and Kroger's.''

The prize money totals $7,000, and it is only for participants in the 5K run. The male and female Open Division champions will receive an $850 payout each.

Cash prizes for the Open Division will be distributed through the first five places for both males and females.

The male and female champions in the Master and Grandmaster divisions will also receive payouts of $200 and $100, respectively.

The Comcast Digital Speed Course Record cash prize of $500 is also available this year to any male runner who breaks Mike Cox's 2003 course record of 14:27 or any female runner who breaks Denisa Costecsu's 2004 course record of 16:37.

"I've already been getting calls from many elite runners across the United States,'' Green said, referring to the impact of the cash prizes.

However, that doesn't mean Green is forgetting about area runners - or walkers, for that matter.

"We're going to have a little bit more of a national field than we've had in the past,'' he said, "but the main thing is we want to take care of the local runners and walkers, and give them something for what they're doing for the race.''

There should certainly be something for every participant during the race weekend, including "Debbie's Dash'' for children ages 9 and under on Aug. 6 and the "Green Mile'' kicking off events on Friday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m.

"For the whole weekend, I'm hoping for between 1,300 and 1,500 participants,'' Green said. "Along with the races, we have the pasta party on Friday night, catered by Ambience, Coca-Cola, and Jebbia's.

"We'll also have a lot of door prizes. Of course, each 5K participant will receive a shirt, a medal and a water bottle, but they will also have chances at many door prizes plus overall awards in the race."

Green says there will be over two hundred total place awards this year, which consist of commemorative clocks, special trophies and glass mugs sponsored by Ohio Valley Medical Center.

"It's just a nice weekend,'' Green said. "It's a great elite runner and walker event and it's a great family event.

"And of course, the money goes to a great cause by helping local children out, and it's for past, present and future medical expenses and direct needs for the kids.

"The sponsors like Comcast have been so supportive of the race. I can't ask for anything more at this point."

Last year, the beneficiaries were Scott Melko of Wheeling and Darius Phillips of Washington, Pa. "The Race for a Reason'' raised $20,000 for them.

This year's beneficiaries will be announced on race day.