In our area, both Cass and Clay Counties sponsor a Relay for Life Event.  I have participated in the Clay County relay for the past six years after learning that two of my five sisters were diagnosed with melanoma.  Thankfully, they both survived their battle with the disease! 

Before sharing a little history about how the relay got started, let me share some of the details of this years two events:

Dates:  Clay County - June 12^th and 13^th, 2009 (10 days and counting)

            Cass County - July 31^st and August 1^st, 2009 (59 days and counting)

Times: Clay County – 5:00pm until 5:00pm

             Cass County – 6:00pm until 6:00am

Where: Clay County – Minnesota State University – Mhd (1104 7^th Ave. S)

             Cass County – Schlossman YMCA – West (4243 19^th Ave. SW)

Before having cancer hit so close to home, I was not that familiar with the relay.  I really wanted to learn more about where it got started, so let me share with you what I found out. 

It all began in Tacoma, Washington, as the City of Destiny Classic 24-Hour Run Against Cancer.

It was 1985 and a local colorectal surgeon, named Dr. Gordy Klatt, wanted to raise additional income for his local American Cancer Society office. He decided to personally raise money for the fight by doing something he enjoyed-running marathons.

In May of that same year the doctor spent an exhausting 24 hours circling the track at Baker Stadium at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma for more than 83 miles. Throughout the night, friends paid $25 to run or walk 30 minutes with him. He raised $27,000 to fight cancer. That first year, nearly 300 of Dr. Klatt’s friends, family, and patients watched as he ran and walked the course.  While doing so, he began to envision a 24-hour team relay event, so others could get involved.  Within months he’d pulled a small committee together and by 1986, 19 teams took part in the first relay event at the Stadium bowl and raised $33,000.  Now, nearly 25 years later, the spirit of that first event still remains.    

Join me and my team as we celebrate the lives of those survivors who have battled this disease, remember loved ones we’ve lost, and fight back against this terrible disease!

For more information on local numbers in the Fargo-Moorhead area click on http://www.directoryoffargomoorhead.com/