Elkhorn couple plans Tough-Mudder style run to raise money for research
By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
Team Lodahl – a group of Delavan-Darien High School students, parents, teachers and coaches – is the largest registered for the first Cancer Assault Challenge.
The Cancer Assault Challenge is set for May 19 at Lutherdale Youth Camp, N7891 Highway 12, Elkhorn.
The event will benefit the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and is being run by long-time area fundraisers Julie and Henry Lopez.
“The response has been overwhelming,” Lopez said about the number of people who have registered already.
The event has attracted nearly 300 participants and more than 70 volunteers in its first year.
The biggest team by far registered to participate is Team Lodahl – a team sponsored by D-DHS first-year Associate Principal and Athletic Director Craig Lodahl. Lopez said Team Lodahl has more than 80 members.
Lodahl said most of his team of students, parents, teachers, and coaches will participate in the Extreme Run – one of two divisions in the event. Lodahl said he hoped to get about 10 people interested and was pleasantly surprised by the response. “Delavan-Darien athletes uniting for a cause” is the team’s motto.
“It was just for fun and it exploded,” Lodahl said. “It’s for a great cause.”
Lodahl, a cancer survivor, helped raise money for Relay for Life during his last year as a teacher at Badger High School and wrestling coach at D-DHS. Lodahl and Badger wrestling coach Shane Koehl teamed up to raise money during a Coaches for Cancer match between the two schools two seasons ago.
Lodahl was diagnosed with cancer in November 2008, had surgery to remove a portion of his stomach, underwent chemotherapy for more than a year, and has been cancer-free since.
Lodahl said participation in the event is not about winning for his team. It is about supporting each other and the fight against cancer.
“I am humbled so many people wanted to be a part of it,” Lodahl said. “It is a good chance to see teachers and coaches getting involved.”
Lopez said her mother, aunt and stepmother are all cancer survivors and her father and uncle have been diagnosed with cancer. Her uncle is due to have surgery Tuesday. Lopez said very few people have not been touched by cancer at some point in their lives.
“If we all join together maybe one more person can have one more birthday,” Julie Lopez said.
The Cancer Assault Challenge is open to individuals or teams and the focus is on having fun and working together, not competing. Lopez said every entrant will have the opportunity to win a prize at a specific obstacle along the course but no prizes are being awarded for how people or teams finish.
The event, much like a Tough Mudder or Warrior Run, has two divisions. The Extreme Run is a 5K run through an obstacle course that includes a dip in Lauderdale Lake and is open to people 13 years old or older. The Couch Potato Run is 1 mile with obstacles appropriate for 7- to 12-year-olds, allowing people to just come out and have some fun.
Lopez said she and her husband have been fundraising in Walworth County for years at other Relay for Life events, bake sales, cookbook sales and rummage sales. Lopez said she and her husband were the No 1 fundraisers in the county two years ago and were No. 2 last year.
Lopez said their goal with the Cancer Assault Challenge is to do one big thing rather than several small things. She also said this year’s event is just the beginning – the hope is for the event to become an annual fundraiser.
Lopez said teams from as far away as Chicago, Brown Deer and Stevens Point have registered with team names like Screaming for a Cure, Cancer Killers, Rowdy Raiders and Hearts Courageous.
Lopez said the idea for Lutherdale to host the event came up because Henry Lopez is on Lutherdale’s board and believes the camp is under-utilized. Hosting the event should bring it some much-needed publicity. The camp hosts youth camps, Bible camps, retreats, conferences and team-building exercises at its Eagle’s Nest Adventure Center and Climbing Tower. The camp is run by Lutherdale Ministries and is open to all denominations.
Lopez said 5K runs through an obstacle course are popular now in other places around the country, but there are no such events is this area. She said Elkhorn Area High School’s 5K track team runs at Lutherdale frequently.
Lopez said the event will also have a silent auction and a nice swag bag for each participant. Representatives from the American Cancer Society will be there as will Texas Roadhouse from Janesville to hand out peanuts and show its support.
Lopez, who used to be an event planner and now runs her own Pampered Chef business, said she hopes to work with local high school kids so they can learn how to plan a fundraiser themselves.
“Planning a fundraiser is not easy,” she said.
Along with her son Greyson, a 15-year-old student at Elkhorn Area High School, Lopez said many people have helped plan this event.
“We have had overwhelming community response,” she said.
Online registration is available at www.active.com/running/elkhorn-wi/cancer-assault-challenge-2013. Registration can be done at Lutherdale until 9 a.m. May 19. Free parking is available for runners. Entry fees received after May 1 are $50 for the Extreme Run, $40 for the Couch Potato Run, $30 for students 13 to 18 years old, $15 for students 7 to 12 years old. Teams of eight or more get $5 off the entry fee. Non-runners will be asked to pay $10 per car to help offset costs.
“It is heartwarming to hear all the stories about why people are running,” Lopez said. “It is nice to see entire families running together and it is nice to bring the community together.
“It’s so important to lead by example,” Lopez said. “Helping others is the best way I know to be an example for my community.”
