Warne originally came up with the idea for the race last year as a means to help pay off a bone marrow transplant to fight her cousin Ray Newcom’s leukemia. She said that although the money still goes to Ray’s family this year, she wants to really focus on remembering the life of “an amazing kid.”>

“Last year, when (Ray) had a bone marrow transplant, (sophomore) David Joest gave me the idea for the race,” she said. “Bone marrow transplants are about a half a million dollars, (so I thought the race was a good idea)” Warne said.

The result is a five-kilometer course. It starts at Northview Christian Church this Saturday and runs through several different neighborhoods. According to Warne, awards will follow the finish of the race along with a memorial of the seven year-old Ray, who passed away last month.

Warne said the race is back again because of the success it had last year. According to her, with 97 people pre-registered for the race last year, 270 ended up coming the day of the race—which exceeded the goals by far.

“We had a goal of $5,000 last year, and we ended up raising $10,000,” Warne said.

“And this year we’re hoping to get another $10,000.”

Sophomore Tyler Smart, who is in charge of setting up the course and also created the video remembering Ray, said he also expects a great turn out this year.

He said, “(The money’s) going to the Newcom family to help pay for medical bills, and people should really come out and support such a good cause.”

According to Warne, the race is open to anyone, and there are flyers posted around the school and in the Activities Office that have all the information, as well as a Web site at www.raceforray.org.
She said people can register beforehand or they can also show up on the day of the race. The registration is $20 and includes a t-shirt.

According to www.raceforray.org, Ray’s parents first noticed something was wrong when he bruised more than “a normal rough and tumble boy.” He also became easily fatigued and he began to complain of leg pain. When his parents took him to Riley Children’s Hospital, he was diagnosed with leukemia.

Ray was extremely mature for his age, according to Warne, and it showed in his attitude. “There was one story a nurse told me that Ray would go into other patients’ rooms and console them and would pray with them,” she said. “He would pray for anyone, but never himself, and he always had a smile on his face.”

As for the race, Warne said she has registered 150 people already and hopes for a great turnout again this year.

And while most of the money will go to Newcom’s family, she also said that anything left over will go to cancer research.

And although she would likes to help the Newcom family financially, she said she really just wants to shed some light to others on the life of Ray. “I wish everyone can hear some stories about him, because he was an amazing kid,” Warne said.