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This Thursday, the American Diabetes Association will kick off the excitement for the 2020 Hampton Roads Tour de Cure, which is taking place this spring in Suffolk.

The kickoff event will be held on Thursday evening at Smartmouth Pilot House in Virginia Beach, 313 32nd St. This event will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and participants do not need to be registered for the 2020 Hampton Roads Tour de Cure to attend.

There will be light refreshments provided at the event, as the 2019 Top Team and Participant Awards from last year’s Hampton Roads Tour de Cure are granted. A sneak peek will be also given for the routes in this year’s Tour de Cure in Suffolk.

Registration for this year’s Tour de Cure in Hampton Roads will be available on site at the kickoff. The theme for the kickoff will be a look at the past 100 years of diabetes, with the 100^th anniversary of the discovery of insulin being celebrated in 2021.

The latest updates on diabetes research will be discussed at the kickoff, along with “new, fun and exciting” things planned for Tour day, according to Robin Kantor, director of development for the Virginia area of the American Diabetes Association.

Tour de Cure is the premier fundraising event for the American Diabetes Association. The Hampton Roads Tour de Cure will be held on May 2 at the Suffolk Executive Airport, 1200 Gene Bolton Drive.

The event has routes for both cyclists and runners. There will be 12-, 30-, 50-, 62- and 100-mile routes for cyclists, a timed 5K for runners, and a one-mile route for both runners and walkers.

Registrations fees are $20 through Feb. 22, and then rise to $30 through the day of the event. The fundraising minimum will be $250 for each cyclist, $100 for each walker and runner, and $50 for participants ages 12 and younger.

The fundraising goal for this year’s Hampton Roads Tour de Cure is $500,000. As of Friday afternoon, about $163,986 has been raised for the event, with 62 teams and 351 total registered participants.

RVSP for the kickoff is preferred. For more information, visit the 2020 Hampton Roads Tour de Cure website at diabetes.org/hrtdc, or contact Robin Kantor via email at rkantor@diabetes.org, or by calling 424-6662 ext. 3269.