Members of the BYU community both young and old came to support Cougs vs Cancer for their 30th annual run.
BYU's Simmons Center for Cancer Research hosted its annual Cougs vs Cancer Run, which included a kid’s 1K fun run, and a 5K around the BYU campus.
Race Director Alexa Hall has been working since September to coordinate this event.
“Today we are doing a cancer 5k to raise funds for cancer research here at BYU,” she said. “It's so much work but so much fun and so rewarding to see so many people go through the finish line.”
Lance Manning was a founding member of the Cancer Awareness Group that started the race 30 years ago in honor of BYU President Rex Lee. Manning is a cancer survivor, and the race holds deep personal significance for him.
“I think a lot of us have people in our lives, whether it's ourselves or others who are fighting cancer, and I think it's a great way to bring hope to others, to (say) hey, I'm going to do the race, I’m going to raise funds, and you know, there's a lot of service opportunities within the group on campus, so I'm glad they’re still doing it,” he said.
BYU student Abigail Kulmayer ran the race alongside her father. She said the support and encouragement from others made the experience truly enjoyable.
“My friend's brother has cancer, so she asked me to run, but also, we have chronic disease in my family that don’t have cures, so (I’m running) for that as well,” she said.
Among the runners was 81-year-old Jane Haynie, who ran the race for the first time. She won a medal for coming in first in the 80 and up female category.
“I loved going out– look at this gorgeous day that we have, and I love the wonderful cause of the cancer research,” she said.
Some attendees came to run for friends and family, while others ran just for the challenge. Manning said the research funds and donations events like this generate help research centers make gradual but meaningful improvements in cancer survival rates.
All proceeds from the race will go to the Simmons Center for Cancer Research.
The BYU community went the extra mile — both on and off the course.