Saturday, Mar. 8 wasn’t an ordinary weekend. The University of Northern Colorado hosted the fourth annual Northern Colorado Ninja Warriors Event to raise funds for cancer survivors.
Led by the UNC Cancer Rehabilitation Institute and sponsored by the Frank Gale Faith Not Fear nonprofit, the Bank of Colorado Arena was transformed into a multifunctional obstacle course. Team competed in different events, testing their strength, speed, weaving ability, balance and coordination.
“Almost all of us have been touched by cancer,” said Kaye Firestone, the founder of Frank Gale Faith Not Fear. “So, we started with an obstacle course because cancer rehab is based on fitness and getting stronger and that’s why we figured we’d do the ninja warrior because it was also based on fitness.”
Firestone is the widowed wife of Frank Gale, who lost his life after years of battling cancer. Her loss inspired the event. “It wasn’t until after Frank died that I realized that the entire operating budget needs to be raised every year, so that’s why we started Frank Gale Faith Not Fear.”
Partnering with Kaye, the UNCRI aimed to raise funds for programs that help survivors regain strength during and after treatments.
“The mission of the institute is to improve the quality of life for cancer survivors through exercise-based rehabilitation,” said Reid Hayward, director of the UNCRI. “This year, we have 42 teams in total. And so, teams compete and raise money and we offer prizes for the team that wins. It’s kind of like a relay race. We have teams of four people and each one is going to do a different phase of the course. We look for time, how quickly they can do it and we also figure in how much money they raised. So, the more money you raise, the greater your chance of winning is.”
For most runners, the run is personal. 91-year-old Kathryn Meis ran in the event in support of those closest to her.
“My son died of cancer and my sister died of cancer and I have a very best friend that has cancer so I’m here to support them,” she said.
UNC alumni Paige Applegae, works at the UC Health Center and ran for her patients. “The UNCRI has always had a close place in my heart,” she said. “So, I just wanted to be here in support with my now new coworkers and I get to help other people in different populations live their life through exercise and be able to come back here and continue to support the cancer population.”
Last year, the event raised over $150,000, and this year raised over $175,000, with more donations being counted.
“100% of the money that’s raised goes to the UNC Cancer Rehab Institute and it pays directly for us to offer the services for the cancer patients that need it,” Hayward said.
“I think UNC Cancer rehab is Greeley’s best kept secret,” Firestone said. “We have a cutting edge facility right here that nobody knows about and these guys are the leader of cancer rehab. They write articles and they publish all over the world and so that’s what we’re here for.”
