By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
While the wait has seemed like an eternity for some, the Cancer Assault Challenge is set to kick off again this weekend at Lutherdale Ministires with hopes of another banner year.
This year’s event is slated for Sunday at Lutherdale Ministiries, N7891 Highway 12, Elkhorn. Gates open at 8 a.m. with races kicking off at 9 a.m.
Julie Lopez, who is the chairman and co-founder of the Cancer Assault Challenge, said from the get-go the event has seen overwhelming support from the surrounding area, with hundreds of participants showing up, 442 last year alone, and the event raising $1,950 at a kick-off fundraiser in February.
“Normally, what I’ve heard from other people that have done the Reindeer Run and stuff like that, ‘oh, your first year you’ll have like maybe 80 people,’” she said about the event’s first year. “So, we planned on 80 people. We had 387.”
This year, she said they’re planning for more than 500 people as the event continues to grow, especially due to the multiple courses last year ranging from extreme to “couch potato.”
According to Lopez, proceeds collected from the event go towards the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. The Cancer Assault Challenge has been Walworth County’s number 1 fundraiser for Relay for Life for the past two years, according to Lopez.
As for runners, Lopez said they have runners of all different age groups, noting a pair of older sisters about to turn 65 who ran because it was something they wanted to do and was on their bucket list.
This year, Lopez said they looked to step the event up another notch, adding new and improved obstacles, even transforming last year’s slide into something a little more extreme with the use of an old toboggan run.
Additionally, Lopez noted Ideal Impressions Photography will again be taking photos at the event, and will additionally be using a drone this year to get some aerial photos.
As for other activities, Lopez said there will be numerous booths, including Mercy Healthcare blood pressure tests, a photo booth and a Humvee, brought by the US Army. A DJ will also hosts contests and games between waves.
Registration costs $40 for the extreme course for individuals and $30 for the couch potato course. Reduced prices are available for students between the ages of 13 and 17. For teams of four, registration costs $160 for the extreme course and $120 for the couch potato course. For more information on registration and the race, visit cancerassaultchallenge.org.
Runners can additionally register the day of the event, although t-shirts and “swag bags” might not be available to those runners.
A community event
In bringing together the Cancer Assault Challenge, Lopez said they didn’t want to just raise money for cancer research; they wanted to help to further bring the community together.
Now, Lopez said the event has teams, both adults and high school students, that come together from all over the county.
Last year, Lopez said when she had learned about the Delavan Adventure Club, an afterschool club for Delavan Students, she viewed it as an opportunity to get area students further involved with their community.
“So, I went to them and I said, hey, how would you guys like to build one of the obstacles,” she said. “We said, you guys did such a great job, why don’t you come run the event.”
Their involvement last year left a mark on the students, and once again, they’ve come to the Cancer Assault Challenge, this time offering their services.
She said other organizations help too, such as the Elkhorn High School Honors Society.
“It’s kind of what we wanted to do with it,” she said. “We wanted to raise money, but we wanted to be a melting pot of kids learning how to give back to the community.
“Folding letters and stuffing envelopes for somebody, that’s how we got our hours in school, but this is so much more fun and we get them as involved and detailed as they want.”
Lopez credits her son for coming up with the idea, looking for a fun and exciting way to raise money for the cancer society rather than through bake sales and the like.
Lopez said the event has even branched out of the local areas, noting kids coming from as far as Stevens Point and the University of Chicago medical school.
“It’s pretty cool considering this will only be our third year,” she said.
Lopez said in the past she has worked with groups who were interested in participating to make sure they were able to do so as it’s not only an event to raise money, but also a learning platform for students.
Lopez said the group has even partnered with the Army Recruitment Office in Burlington.
This year, Lopez said the Army recruiters have joined the planning committee for the event and are helping with course design.
“He said, well, the Army has a lot more resources than you,” she said. “He said we need to do this, we need to do that, it’s going to be great.”
Lopez said the support from the community continues to grow each year with more and more coming to her looking for ways to help.
