PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) Friderike Heuer has walked in the Race for the Cure breast cancer fundraiser many times, but this year she’s hit a roadblock: The date of this year’s Portland race, Sept. 20, conflicts with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year. Her faith won’t allow her to attend.

“I am pretty upset over it,” Heuer said. “As a survivor, you want to be part of the group feeling, of the excitement. If you are religious enough that you can’t attend, you are deprived of the emotional boost, the idea that people care about breast cancer, that they care about you.”

The scheduling conflict hurts an already vulnerable population, Heuer said. “Ashkenazi women have a genetic propensity toward breast cancer. … I honestly am not angry, just disappointed.”

She is not alone. Christine Gottlieb of Lake Oswego is a fourth-generation cancer survivor, diagnosed twice with breast cancer in the past six years. She’s walked in the Race for the Cure every year that she was healthy enough since 1998, before and after her own cancer, and she’s frustrated that a scheduling “mistake” will keep her from participating this year.

“You can go to the Dollar Store and buy calendars printed in China that will have all the Jewish holidays on them,” she said, adding that she sees no excuse for scheduling the race on the second day of Rosh Hashana.

Ordinarily, Gottlieb’s congregation, Neveh Shalom, has a team ranging from 25 to 75 members, who walk or run the Race for the Cure. Not this year.

The sponsor of the race has received between 10 and 20 e-mails and phone calls — from individuals and groups — protesting the timing, according to Christine McDonald, the executive director of Komen Portland, which hosts the race. She said organizers knew about the conflict before announcing the date but were constrained by city policies on the use of a city park, street closures and security.

The size of the event — organizers expect 50,000 people to walk or run — means the event has to be held on a Sunday, McDonald said, when traffic is at its lowest. Traditionally, the Race for the Cure is held in September, usually on the third Sunday, she said. This year, McDonald said other events were scheduled downtown for the Sundays surrounding Sept. 20.

“We hope people will understand the constraints we’re under,” McDonald said. “We are inclusive of all faiths and all races. Breast cancer doesn’t discriminate.”

She said organizers have consulted calendars for the next several years and found no more conflicts. “This is just one of those unfortunate things.”