Running for a cause

Running a marathon takes tremendous mental and physical strength, but for two local residents, they have some added inspiration.

Jayci Cosens and her husband, Chad, are organizing a team of runners to travel to the St. Louis Marathon on April 10 in St. Louis, Mo., and raise money to help their 8-year-old cousin Hunter Hawley's parents as he battles cancer.

"We decided ... we were going to run anyway so we may as well use it for something positive and help make a difference for Hunter," Cosens said.

Hawley, of Fort Scott, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia just three days after his birthday in March 2006. After three years of treatment, he was declared to be in remission in June 2009 only to have his disease strike again four months later.

Fortunately, according to Cosens, the majority of Hawley's medical treatments have been covered by insurance. However, his parents must still face the financial struggles of receiving treatment for months at a time and being hundreds of miles from home.

Cosens said she hopes to use the marathon to raise money to help cover costs such as travel expenses, food, and other items while one of Hawley's parents are away from work.

"Being blessed with a large family, and with crazy family members who like to run marathons, we decided to make an impact on Hunter's life and raise money for his family by running the St. Louis Marathon," Cosens said on a Facebook page she designed to promote the cause.

Hawley has been receiving treatment at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and is expected to remain there for another month-and-a-half, according to Cosens.

Cancer is no stranger to Hawley's family.

According to Cosens, in the last five years, Hawley's grandmother, Bernie Simmons, died from lymphoma; and his aunt, Elaine Ropp, died from lung cancer.

"As a family, we wanted to step up and do something positive that made us feel like we were making a difference, and exerting a little bit of control over cancer," Cosens said.

To help raise the money, the Cosens' plan to organize a team of runners who will find individuals to sponsor $1 per mile.

"Our goal is to recruit 26 people to run with us on April 10, who then each find 26 people to donate $26," Cosens said. "We are still looking for more ... we're about half way to our goal of finding the number of runners we want."

Cosens said runners who join the team will be able to participate in the full marathon (26.2 miles), half marathon (13.1 miles), 10K (6.2 miles), or 5K (3.1 miles). Leading up to the marathon, the team will be holding group training sessions in Fort Scott. Cosens said the first session will be held at 8 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 30, at the Fort Scott High School track, 1005 S. Main St.

The Cosens' and several other Fort Scott residents traveled to Kansas City to participate in the Kansas City Marathon on Oct. 17 and discovered it is not uncommon for runners to be supporting a cause. She noted that many runners try to raise money for cancer and that she recently filled out a survey conducted by Runner's World magazine on using running as a fund raiser.

"A lot of the causes is for cancer, so it's not out of the ordinary for somebody to raise money through running," Cosens said.

For those who want to support the cause but do not want to make the trip to St. Louis, the Cosens' are organizing an informal 5K event in Fort Scott while they are running in the marathon.

Leading the way at the 5K will be Hawley's 70-year-old grandmother who will be walking. No time or location has been made at this time.

Cosens also set up an account at Union State Bank for people to make a donation.

For more information or to join the team, contact Cosens at (620) 224-2437.

Cosens will also be posting updates on the cause on a Facebook page designed to promote their efforts. To find the page, visit www.facebook.com and search for Hunter's Run.