Leslie Jackson, of State College, is dedicated to helping control the cat overpopulation in Centre County. To support her cause, she has embarked on a rather unusual, as well as physically demanding, fundraiser — completing the Tussey Mountainback 50 Mile Relay and Ultramarathon as a solo runner/walker.

The race will be held Oct. 21 in Rothrock State Forest.

Her goal is to raise $5,000 for the Hundred Cat Foundation, a local nonprofit organization that spays and neuters feral and stray cats. Those funds would be enough to spay/neuter 100 cats at the organization’s monthly clinics, which are held on the grounds of Pets Come First (the new SPCA) in Centre Hall.

Jackson, an administrative assistant for Penn State’s division of development and alumni relations, said the efforts of her and her fellow volunteers are comparable to running a marathon. “We all put one foot in front of the other every day for the cat (cause),” she said.

In addition to holding the clinics, the Hundred Cat Foundation assists people in caring for feral cat colonies, finds homes for socialized cats and provides outreach and education on feral and stray cat management.

The Tussey Mountainback will be the second race that Jackson has run to support the foundation. In 2010, she ran 26.2 miles in the Wineglass Marathon in Corning, N.Y., raising $4,140. Eighty-three cats were spayed and neutered with those funds, she said. For more information about Hundred Cat Foundation, call 206- 5423 or visit www.hundredcats.org. Free to Breathe

Doris Myers, a resident of State College, passed away just shy of her 95th birthday at the end of August after battling three separate attacks from lung cancer. Before she died, however, she did her part in helping to advance lung cancer research by spearheading the inaugural Free to Breathe State College Lung Cancer 5K Run/Walk, which will be held Sept. 23 in Tom Tudek Memorial Park, 400 Herman Drive, State College.

“She thought she really owed her life to the National Lung Cancer Partnership,” said Stefanie Ritter, volunteer coordinator for the event.

Free to Breathe, according to its website, is an event series and fundraising program that was initiated in 2006 in Philadelphia in an effort to build a foundation for raising the public’s awareness of lung cancer and increasing research funding to defeat lung cancer. Funds raised from Free to Breathe events support National Lung Cancer Partnership’s mission of decreasing deaths due to lung cancer and helping patients live longer and better through research, awareness and advocacy.

All proceeds from the State College event will benefit the Pennsylvania Lung Cancer Partnership’s research, education and awareness programs.

“(The event) provides a place for advocates, survivors and the community as a whole to come together,” Ritter said. For more information about Free to Breathe, visit www.freetobreathe.com.

Stephanie Koons writes this weekly column featuring news from the Centre Region. Contact her at 235-3927 or skoons@centredaily.com.