Oskaloosa An Overnight Stop For Cross Country Runners

Members of Team Baltimore stop for the night in Oskaloosa. They are running from San Francisco to Baltimore to raise awareness and money for young adults facing cancer.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Jay Remmers is a runner in the program 4K for Cancer, which is part of the Ulman Cancer Fund. Thirty young adults are on a cross-country run to raise awareness and funds for young adults who are impacted by cancer.

The run is now in its fourth year, while a bicycle event is now in its 15th year. Participants like Jay fundraise before leaving San Francisco on his way to Baltimore. Each runner raised a minimum of $4500.00 that goes directly to the Ulman Cancer Fund to help provide services for scholarships and programs for those impacted by cancer..

The route is preplanned, and the runners are welcomed into churches, community centers, and homes for the night, so their lodging is free as they run across the nation over the 49 days it takes to complete the journey.

The group took off from San Francisco on June 18th, and they will finish in Baltimore on August 5th. All the runners are between 18 to 25 years of age.

Their meals are also covered by generous people along the route, that way the money raised during their journey can go directly into the fund. “It’s really amazing the generosity of everyone to help us on this journey,” explained a member of Team Baltimore.

Team Baltimore is one of two teams running this year, with each group having approximately 30 members each.

Remmers said that many of the runners have personal ties to someone impacted by cancer, which is what helps to drive them to raise money and awareness. “Personally, I really like to help people, and through this whole process I’ve found that a bunch of my friends have been impacted through their families. It’s amazing to hear their stories and be able to grow with them.”

But running across the plains of Iowa during some of the hottest weather on record can become both mentally and physically tiring, but the group says they have a saying that helps them continue on.

“What hill?” is the quote the group uses to motivate themselves. “It was a blog post written by someone who ran this a couple of years ago,” said a team Baltimore member.

They think of all those who are battling cancer, enduring chemo and radiation treatments and “you think about that while you’re running, and you’re going up this grueling long hill and you think ‘what hill’. It’s nothing compared to what they’re going through.” said the team.

As the group gathers in the morning before they take off on the day’s run, they hold a dedication circle where each runner says who they are running for that day. The runners then write that person’s name on their leg or arm to carry that person with them that day. “We are constantly gathering strength from those people,” said the team.
The team spent the night at Central United Methodist Church in Oskaloosa to recharge for the run to Cedar Rapids.

You can follow the team and their progress as they make their way to Baltimore by visiting their page here – http://4kforcancer.org/2017-team-baltimore/