September was National Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Cancer is the leading cause of death from disease in children under the age of 15 in the U.S.

On Sunday, September 24th, The Christina Renna Foundation held its annual walkathon and blood drive at the Lindenhurst Middle School. Christina Renna was 15 years old when she and her family received devastating news. She was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer. She received treatment for a year, but unfortunately the cancer relapsed. Eventually she got surgery, however two months later she relapses again. In 2007, Christina Renna lost her life to cancer. It was very tragic for her family and everyone close to her. They started the foundation to help find a cure for children like Christina.

September 22nd,  the tree in the town square was lit up. It was decorated with 40 golden ribbons each one representing a family in the community that has been affected by pediatric cancer. The bows were “A prayer, a wish, and a dream of a cancer free world”, according to the Renna Foundation. It stayed lit until the end of the month.

At the walkathon, everyone walked the track with their shoes laced in gold laces. Donations were collected to help the foundation. The Renna family and their close relatives made speeches to start off the walk which concluded with touching words from her family as well. After the walk, the cross country team joined Mr. Carlson, Christina’s former cross country coach, gave a gift to Mrs. Renna. The gift was a framed picture of Christina and her teammates at Sunken Meadow, where they participated in meets. In picture, she can be seen on the bottom left, with a bell next to her.

“Christina had a passion for running. She was a part of the first cross country team that I ever coached” said Coach Carlson. Christina and another runner named, Meghan Stanton competed at meets together as independents without a team. Coach Carlson had to recruit at least 16 girls for the team. He told our team that they were not the amazing runners that won every time, but they had heart. Christina appreciated that she now had a real team to run with. She always found a way to be at practice and participate. Whether it was making goal times for each individual girl or giving them tips to get better. Ultimately, she became too sick to run. Coach Carlson became teary eyed as he remembered how during races, she would sit towards the end of the trail. As one of her teammates neared the end of the race, crossing the footbridge, she would ring a special bell that she kept with her to cheer them on. As he told us this during the middle of practice, he paused a bit trying to compose himself before continuing. It hurt him saying that one day her mother came up to him. She told him that she was just too sick and couldn’t being going to the cross country meets anymore. It had been a cold, wet autumn that was much too draining. His first cross country season would be her last. In her weak days she wanted to be with her team.

When he first started, he knew nothing of the sport. He had coached baseball, basketball, and soccer. From those sports he knew competition. It made him a coach that wanted to win and hated to lose. Through Christina he learned about the sport. Most importantly, it was through Christina that he learned the power of support. She changed him as a person and shaped all the future teams that she never got to witness. Within our support for each other on the team, Christina Renna’s legacy lives on. It is thanks to her that he says, “I’ll never make wins and loses more important than the human side of it.” A decade later, she still lives in his memory.

When he told me about the Renna family, he spoke of them with the highest regard. They turned their tragedy into a way to give goodness back into the world. All of the money they raise is given to children suffering from cancer. The Renna Family continues to be very close to the cross country program. If you would like to donate to their foundation please visit their website, http://crf4acure.org/2015/08/18/ways-to-help/