78 Young Cancer Patients to Run in Benefit Relay

Seventy-eight young cancer patients will run in the third annual Champions Run for Life Torch Relay at 10:30 a.m. June 11 at Shoreline Aquatic Park. The public is urged to cheer on the runners, all of whom are or have been in treatment at the Jonathan Jaques Children’s Cancer Center at Memorial Miller Children’s Hospital.

Carrying torches used during the 1984 Olympic Games, each participant will cover one-eighth of a mile in the two-mile relay--most on foot, some in wheelchairs. Former Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson will head a lineup of sports, television and movie celebrities who will lend moral and physical support to the children, who are in various stages of cancer remission or recovery.

Last year’s run raised $90,000 for the Jaques center. This year’s event is expected to exceed that amount, according to chairman Paul Brown, who said the funds raised would help defray the costs of psycho-social counseling, research and staff training. Fund raising will include two events this year--the Champions Run for Life and a gala dinner June 11 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Long Beach.