LOS ANGELES MARATHON / DAILY REPORT : At $1 Per Mile, Derek Will Compete so Children Can Go to YMCA Camp

Raymond Derek, 61, of Hollywood, a recovering cancer patient, plans to compete in Sunday’s Los Angeles Marathon using a modified walker.

Derek has competed in the last two races, completing 13 miles in 1991 and 11 last year before he was forced off the course by street sweepers.

“If I make 10 miles this year, I’ll be lucky,” Derek said. “I’m the only one with a walker in the race. I put wheels on it so I can shuffle along. I start with the wheelchairs, but they pass me by pretty quickly.”

Found to have stomach and prostate cancer six years ago, Derek underwent surgery last December and said the cancer is in remission.

Although his doctors suggested he skip the race, Derek said he will compete because he wants to raise money to send needy youths to the YMCA camp. He has secured sponsors who will pay $1 per mile to the Metro YMCA camp fund.

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Mike Cuzzacrea of Buffalo, N.Y., in “The Guinness Book of World Records” for running a marathon in 3:06.00 while flipping a pancake, said he is determined to finish Sunday’s race in less than three hours.

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Jim MacLaren of Greenwich, Conn., who has competed in eight marathons and five triathlons with an artificial leg since 1989, will run Sunday. A former college football player, MacLaren had a leg amputated after a motorcycle accident in 1985.