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FIGHT BACK 55
Back in 1985 a man in Tacoma, Washington who had seen too much
suffering and too many loved ones lose their fights to cancer decided
he was going to fight back. He wanted to raise funds to help his local
ACS chapter. Dr. Gordy Klatt decided to walk/jog laps around a track.
Friends would donate $25 to join him for 30 minutes. After 24 hours,
after 83 miles, he raised $27,000. What he could not have known is that
he was starting a worldwide movement that now 25 years later has raised
$3 billion and involves 500 events, 3.5million people in 20 countries
around the globe, who believe the same thing that he does—that *hope* in action can save lives.
How many times have you heard "if you don't like it - do something
about it"? That's WHY we RELAY. "It is better to light a candle than to
curse the darkness"
Because so may want to do their part to eliminate cancer we come
together every year at Relay For Life. Together we continue to walk in
the footsteps of one man, and every step brings us closer to the day
when *no one* has to hear the words “you have
cancer.”* *
As a way to follow in Dr. Klatt’s footsteps, near noon April 17 I
will start out near Center Point in Linn County and run to the Dome, 55
miles. The first 25 miles will be designated */Celebrate miles/*
–celebrating the silver anniversary of Relay, celebrating all the
progress we have made in the fight against this disease and celebrating
all those who are winning their fights. The next 30 miles will be */Remember miles/* and will honor all who have last
their fight with cancer. My father lost his fight in June 1979…
30 years ago.
The route will head northwest on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, passing
through Urbana, Brandon, LaPorte City, Gilbertville and then Evansdale
and then on streets to the dome.
Every 2-3 miles a support team/Aid station will be set up. The stations
for the first half would be covered by Linn County teams and the 2^nd
half by UNI teams No one would have a long time commitment and my
progress could be tracked by cell phone so teams would know when they
need to be in place. You can wait in a car if the weather is bad. I
would love to have runners join me for any distance along the route.
The pace will not be too fast for most runners.
Teams “adopt a mile”. Similar to the luminaria idea, team
members designate all those they are honoring/remembering. All 55 miles
would be adopted by a team; each team’s list could be posted on
the website for several weeks leading up to the event and their
fund-raising would be posted with it. A poster could also be in the
dome at the event.
Dave Martin
*Please let Alissa Jewell or Samantha Martin know if you are interested
in participating in any of these ways by contacting them at ajewell@uni.edu
or smartin@uni.edu
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