Childhood cancer fundraiser departs Lisle, running 'for a reason'
A group of downstate runners made Lisle Junior High its starting point Friday morning on a journey to raise money to fight childhood cancer.
Teams totaling 140 participants in the St. Jude Chicago to Peoria Run darted off - or drove off in RVs - about 8 a.m. on a hilly 5-mile leg to Downers Grove South High School, the first of 43 segments to bring them back to Central Illinois after a charitable trek.
The 24th annual run raises money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and is one of about 15 "satellite runs" of the original St. Jude Memphis to Peoria Run, which started in 1982, coordinator Carolyn Weaver said.
"We have over 2,000 runners that are running in as part of this bigger experience, which finishes up with the telethon," Weaver said, referring to the annual St. Jude Telethon fundraiser, which is set to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday in both Peoria and Bloomington. One member of each team must be running, while the rest ride in RVs, in a relay-style back to Peoria 24 hours a day and night.
Experienced runners were encouraged to take the first leg, leaving from Lisle Junior High, as they began the two-day event that could have participants running as many as 60 miles or as few as 10. A chase vehicle Weaver describes as a "hotel bus with a sound system" follows all of the teams' RVs to pick up any runner who struggles during a leg, gets injured or needs a break.
"It's a fundraising event - not a running event," Weaver said, and it's certainly not a race. "We are all there to lift each other up, and it's the camaraderie of the experience."
The launch at Lisle Junior High featured a kickoff ceremony with safety and logistics tips, motivational speeches and words from parents of children who have battled cancer while young. Many participants are affected in some way by childhood cancer.
"Most people come to our run for a reason," Weaver said.
A co-worker's daughter was her reason to join the fundraiser more than a decade ago, Weaver said, first participating in the original Memphis to Peoria Run, then switching to the Chicago route seven years ago.
When Weaver took on a leadership role with the event, she switched the starting location from Midwestern University in Downers Grove to Lisle High School because she is a Lisle High graduate. But the high school parking lot is being paved this summer, she said, leading participants to begin from the junior high parking lot for the first time.
The St. Jude Chicago to Peoria Run aims to raise $1 million for the nonprofit hospital, which provides care for children with life-threatening diseases without charging families for treatment, travel, housing or food. When runners left Friday morning, they had brought in $288,877. To donate, visit https://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=105154.