"Racing for Research" Cycling Team Donates to The ABTA

Kovarus Sponsored “Racing for Research” Cycling Team Raises Over $7,000
to Support the American Brain Tumor Association

Des Plaines, IL, (August 14, 2008)—The American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) is the beneficiary of outstanding participation and strong show of support at the Fourth Annual 2008 Kovarus Lafayette Criterium. More than $7,000 was raised for brain tumor research at the cycling event held in Lafayette, CA on July 13th. More information on the Kovarus/ABTA Racing for Research cycling team and the event results can be viewed at http://www.racing-4-research.org/index.htm.

The Racing for Research team of elite cyclists competing in events across the nation is sponsored by South San Francisco-based Kovarus, Inc.  Kovarus is a leading technology integrator specializing in delivering virtualization, enterprise storage and data center networking solutions.

"Kovarus remains dedicated to supporting the American Brain Tumor Association through the Kovarus/ABTA Racing for Research cycling team and events like the Lafayette Criterium," stated Peter Castaldi, Principal at Kovarus. "I have seen firsthand the devastating effects of this illness in my 10-year-old nephew, who has been battling a brain tumor for eight years. I strongly advocate continued research to improve treatment options and survival rates."

Team captain of Racing for Research, David Ridder, started the cycling team in 2006 after a close friend was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2004. Since then the team has partnered with Kovarus and the ABTA to raise money and gain support for brain tumor research through athletic endeavors.

It is expected that more than 195,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with a brain tumor this year. Of those, about 45,000 will be primary brain tumors and about 150,000 will be metastatic brain tumors, or tumors that begin as a cancer elsewhere in the body and migrate, or metastasize, to the brain. There are more than 120 different types of brain tumors both malignant and benign.  What causes brain tumors remains unknown.

Founded in Chicago in 1973, the American Brain Tumor Association was the first not-for-profit, independent organization committed solely to eliminating brain tumors through research and to meeting the needs of brain tumor patients and their families.  For more information, visit www.abta.org or call 1-800-886-1281. 

About Kovarus
Kovarus is a leading system integrator of virtualized data center technologies. As a specialist in delivering virtualization, enterprise storage and data center networking solutions, Kovarus enables companies of all sizes to optimize IT resources, lower capital and operating expenses and ensure business continuity while reducing energy consumption. Kovarus’ extensive engineering experience and unique ability to converge these three technologies gives us a distinct advantage in data center design and implementation. Since its formation in 2003, Kovarus has been chosen as a premier provider of consulting and integration services by leading technology companies including, VMware, EMC and Cisco. Kovarus is headquartered in South San Francisco, CA. For more information please visit www.kovarus.com.

ABTA Contact:  Peggy Kasprzak
Phone: 847-827-9910 x16
Cell: 847-420-3974
Email:  peggy@abta.org

Kovarus Contact:  Sophia Le
Phone: 650-392-8367
Email: sle@kovarus.com