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SALISBURY, MD---When Anna Wagner was 16, she learned about the Baltimore-based Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults’ 4K for Cancer, a national program raising money to provide cancer patient support through cross-country cycling (and later long-distance running).

Then a high school student in Annapolis, Wagner was too young to get involved, but vowed that someday she would.

That day will be Friday, June 15.

With approximately 25 fellow cancer fund supporters, comprising Team Baltimore, the ºÚÁÏÍø marketing major will embark on a cross-country run from San Francisco to Maryland. During the relay-style event, each teammate will run 12-16 miles every day — approximately a half marathon — for seven weeks, ending in Baltimore’s Federal Hill neighborhood on Saturday, August 4. (When not running, participants follow the current runner in a van that also carries team supplies.)

In between, they will deliver care packages to cancer patients roughly their own ages — from late teens to mid-30s — and announce recipients of scholarships presented by the organization across the U.S. They also will help spread the news about 4K for Cancer’s other initiatives, such as a planned facility in Baltimore that will provide housing for patients and their families while they receive treatment in the metro area.

Each day’s run will be dedicated to a local cancer patient.

“We do this through a dedication circle with the community we stay in,” said Wagner. “We hold hands and share stories to inspire and unite all of us and the community. Afterward, we write the name of the person or family we are dedicating our miles to that day on our leg. It’s one of my favorite parts about the run.”

At night, the team will rest in sleeping bags on the floors of church community halls, YMCA auditoriums and other communal spaces provided by volunteer hosts. As the run’s director, it is Wagner’s responsibility to solicit these locations, as well as the food and beverage donations that will keep the team fueled during the trip.

For the SU student, the 2,800-mile run will be the culmination of an already long and sometimes disappointing journey. A student-athlete in high school, Wagner originally came to Salisbury to play field hockey. Her varsity career came to an abrupt end, however, when she ruptured a disc. Her doctor told her not only would she have to give up field hockey, but she may never run again.

“My dreams were squashed,” she said.

With more time to focus on other pursuits, she leaned into her studies and became active in other student organizations and events, including SU’s award-winning American Cancer Society Relay For Life. Her participation in Relay rekindled her interest in 4K for Cancer, but her physical condition still made it unlikely for her to participate.

Then last year, she suffered a double blow. First, she learned that one of her faculty mentors in SU’s Franklin P. Perdue School of Business had been diagnosed with cancer. In November, her grandfather died from the disease.

“That was the last straw,” she said. “There were plenty of signs that this was the right decision for me. I needed to do it.”

Following years of therapy, her doctor finally agreed she was strong enough to participate in the intensive run.

In the interim, she and her teammates have been busy raising the organization’s required $4,000 participation fee through events from T-shirt and bake sales to online campaigns. Her projects included co-hosting a 5K run at SU.

For Wagner, the extraordinary cross-country journey not only will fulfill a goal she set for herself six years ago; it also allows her to provide a unique answer when people ask about her immediate plans following her expected graduation from SU this May.

“I’ll be running,” she said.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website at www.salisbury.edu.