Sunshine Run sets fast pace for generosity; Annual race tallies a record $40,000 for various charities as runners aim for best.
They ran for different reasons.
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Sunday, October 14, 2007
Dirk VanderHart
News-Leader
For some it was the extension of a hobby, a show of support for a loved one or an attempt to win a cash prize.
But the 2,100 people who participated in St. John's 28th annual Sunshine Run on Saturday all ran for a cause.
Actually, causes.
Proceeds from the run's three events — 10K and 5K races and a one-mile walk — will go to St. John's Burn Center, the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks, the Ronald McDonald House and other organizations.
And organizers said it will be the race's most profitable year to date, with more than $40,000 raised for the organizations.
For Renee Fesperman, the event represents triumph over illness.
She ran her first Sunshine Run 10 months after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004.
She'd been a runner for years, but suddenly it was more than a hobby for Fesperman.
"I really felt that that was the one thing I kind of had to do prove to myself that I'm not sick," said the Rogersville woman, 37. "It was more emotional because it wasn't just for the exercise.
"It was survival."
As she continued to run despite her disease, the sport took on a more therapeutic quality.
Today, Fesperman has beaten the cancer.
Though she generally runs the event's 10K race, she participated in the 5K this year. Proceeds from that event went to Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks.
Stan Barlow has a similar story.
After being diagnosed with prostate cancer and lymphoma in 2002, Barlow's doctors encouraged him to get more exercise.
"I started walking, then I started running," said Barlow, 63.
In 2003, Barlow participated in the 10K race despite having just undergone three consecutive days of chemotherapy.
"I was debating on whether to do it," he said. "Then, I just stopped in and signed up."
Barlow's cancer is in remission, though he will probably have to undergo radiation therapy in the future.
"I just enjoy running," he said. "I get out around young people that are feeling good, and it makes me feel good."
As they have since 2004, a group of Willard students participated in the 5K race to honor a former classmate.
The 64 members of the running club from Willard Intermediate School ran in honor of Josh Thompson.
The sixth-grader died in 2004 of burns.
"That following fall, we found out the Sunshine Run benefits the St. John's Burn Unit," said Debra Ellis, a math teacher who organized her school's participation. "After Josh died, we just wanted to do something in his honor."
Ellis, who spent some time in the burn unit herself after an accident when she was 13, makes sure to run with the students each year.
"It's just been a really meaningful experience for me," she said.
Caption with Photo:
Marine Lance Cpl. Joe Lopez finishes the 10K race. The 21-year-old used the race to prepare for a Marine-sponsored marathon Oct. 28 in Washington, D.C., and to rebuild his strength after near paralysis from a smallpox vaccination.
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Wheelchair racer
Marine Joseph Lopez, who competed in Saturday's race in an arm-powered wheelchair, finished the 10K with a time of 36:43.