BUFFALO, N.Y. — A group of young men and women is running from one side of the country to the other all to help people living with cancer. On Thursday, they made their stop in Buffalo.
The trio 2 On Your Side met on Thursday is from California, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. Before last month, they didn't know each other.
"It really allows you to get to know a person, and being able to run one-on-one with someone every day, so you always have a partner, and you really can just ask them the questions. You get uncomfortable, but that's how you get to know each other," runner Anna Balch said.
Now they're part of a 28-person team running across the country from California to Massachusetts for 4K for Cancer. They are doing it to raise money to support young adults and their loved ones who are fighting cancer.
"Last April, my sister was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and 4K just seems like something I was meant to do," Tyler Berge said.
"My grandmother on my father's side is actually a breast cancer survivor, and then my grandmother on my mother's side unfortunately passed away from cancer a couple of years ago," Abby Wiley said.
"I personally am running for my grandmother who passed away after battling breast cancer and a friend of mine who I used to work with at university who passed away from Stage IV lung cancer," Balch added.
Along their journey, people donate food and places to stay. The young men and women also do service projects. On Thursday, they painted with patients at Roswell Park.
It's all about the connections they're making along the way.
"There's nothing like going into a gas station and telling someone what you're doing, and their eyes just fill with tears, like you know that you've just touched their heart and made their day, and it makes our day as well," Berge said.
They're also learning a lot about themselves.
"Our connections to the cancer community really bring us together, and so I think that kind of breaks down barriers pretty early on and then from there, you know, we can be our goofy selves with each other. We can really have those laughs and those memories that we'll never forget," Balch said.
If you are between the ages of 18 and 25, you can apply to be part of 4K for Cancer 2020.
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