For Jimmy Blunt, when he heard the words ‘you have cancer,’ his life changed in an instant.  Four years ago, he was diagnosed with Stage III Seminoma, which is a type of testicular cancer.

“When you hear those words, you really only have one choice-- fight back,”’ said Jimmy.  “After completing chemotherapy, I decided it was time to take control of my life and ran my first 5K with the Fight Back 5K two years ago.  I was in horrible shape and weighed over 300 pounds.  By the time the race came around, I had lost close to 90 pounds of fat.  Having this race to work towards really helped to keep me motivated to lose weight, get in shape and take back control of my life.”

Participants may walk or run in the fourth annual Fight Back 5K, which will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, January 10 at Stonebridge United Methodist Church located at 1800 S. Stonebridge Dr. in McKinney.

The event is presented by the 2015 ACS Relay For Life of McKinney team Hope Bleeds Purple, in honor of the Relay For Life theme color, purple.

Jimmy ran his first race with everything he had.  “I came in 7th place in my age group but to me, 7th place was actually first.  I just wanted to finish.  Turned out, it was my fastest time to date.”

Now in his second year of running 5Ks, he sees events like the Relay For Life of McKinney and the Fight Back 5K as a way to not only raise money and awareness for a great cause but also to promote a healthy lifestyle.

“One of the many things we can do to help protect ourselves from cancer is to stay fit,” he says.  “Running is a great way to accomplish that so, to combine an event like the Fight Back 5K with the Relay For Life just makes sense. 

The online pre-registration fee for the Fight Back 5K is $30 thru January 9.   Race day on-site registration is $35.  Register online at https://secure.GetMeRegistered.com/fightback5K. 

Precision Align & Auto Service in McKinney is the Presenting Sponsor for the Fight Back 5K.