'Heroes' run in Cary to help fight pediatric cancer

With 21 white doves flying overhead - symbolizing the 21st birthday that Haley Lichter would have celebrated this week - runners took to paths at Cary-Grove Park on Sunday to help the fight against cancer in the Cary-Grove High School graduate's memory.

The second annual Heroes Like Haley 5K Run/Walk raised money for pediatric cancer patients and to honor Haley Lichter, who died of a rare brain cancer in 2015. Haley would have turned 21 on Tuesday.

Last year's inaugural run raised $30,000 for the cause. This year, organizers were hoping to raise $50,000.

The event benefited two Cary residents in particular: McKai Malooley, 8 months, who was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer, and Brock Iverson, 9, who has leukemia. Brock served as the official starter of the raise Sunday.

Next year, Heroes Like Haley hopes to offer an athletic scholarship in Haley's name for a 2017 Cary-Grove High School graduate.