Walk at racetrack raises awareness, funds to fight lupus

About 650 people walked in a gray mist this morning to raise money and awareness in the fight against the disease lupus.

The walkers, including people with lupus, their relatives and friends, went around the three-quarter-mile track at the Richmond International Raceway off Laburnum Avenue.

The “Walk for Lupus Now” was held by the Greater Washington Chapter of the nonprofit Lupus Foundation of America. The chapter’s coverage area includes Virginia down to the Richmond area.

The turnout nearly doubled the expected 350 walkers, said Penny Fletcher, president and CEO of the lupus chapter.

Lupus is a chronic disease in which the immune system, which normally fights off harmful germs, turns against the body’s healthy cells and tissue.

The walk raised nearly $50,000.