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Luminaries on board for All-Star 5K

Charity heads, olympian, Hall of Famers to participate

The Charity 5K & Fun Run presented by Sports Authority and Nike during pre-All-Star Game festivities will mark an unprecedented alliance among the three charities which will equally share the proceeds.

And the founding members of those three organizations will be on hand for the race in a likewise unprecedented show of solidarity.

Michael Milken of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Sherry Lansing of Stand Up To Cancer, and Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker of Susan G. Komen for the Cure are the latest additions to the luminaries sure to turn the inaugural event into an enjoyable and consequential occasion.

Also participating will be Missouri Governor Jeremiah W. Nixon and First Lady Georganne Wheeler Nixon.

Earlier, Shawn Johnson, whose gold-medal performance on the balance beam at the 2008 Summer Olympics earned the gymnast the Sullivan Award as the nation's outstanding amateur athlete, had come aboard as host of the All-Star Charity 5K & Fun Run.

Milken established the Prostate Cancer Foundation in 1993 as his latest contribution to medical research, which since 1982 had included the Milken Family Foundation for cancer research.

Lansing, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures until stepping down in 2005 to devote all of her time to philanthropy, helped establish Stand Up To Cancer last year. With her involvement with the entertainment industry, she was instrumental in the success of the Sept. 5 Stands Up To Cancer telethon simulcast on all three major TV networks.

Ambassador Brinker (Hungary, 2001-03) followed through on a pledge to her sister, Susan G. Komen, by starting a grassroots campaign to eradicate breast cancer that quickly grew into an organized national initiative.

Johnson, a native of Des Moines, Iowa, will also serve as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game Ambassador for the 80th Midsummer Classic in St. Louis.

Johnson, who also brought three silver medals home from the Beijing Games, continued her winning streak in the most recent installment of ABC-TV's "Dancing with the Stars," winning the latest competition as the youngest performer in the show's eight-year history.

Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson will also be on the scene for the twin races, which will be run for charity on Sunday -- two days prior to the All-Star Game in Busch Stadium.

All proceeds from the occasion will be equally shared by the three charities.

Robinson, who manned third base for the Orioles for 23 seasons through 1977, will shift to "home plate" for the All-Star Charity 5K & Fun Run.

He will be at the finish line to hand out medals and handshakes to fans, joining fellow Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers and former Cardinals outfielder Vince Coleman on the "reception committee."

The official race starter will be yet-another Cooperstown legend, Lou Brock.

Registration and information for this unique event is available at www.allstargame.com.

For local fans, race information is also available at all nine St. Louis area Sports Authority locations.

Participants will be treated to a course dotted by numerous Major League stars of the past and team mascot of the present.

The course will stretch from Busch Stadium to America's Center, home of the MLB All-Star FanFest.

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com.