Making strides against cancer

Teacher, students raising funds to fight disease

Lewis & Clark Middle School health teacher Cody Sharp, in red, leads the group in the first lap of a marathon that included cancer survivors and people in support of someone currently battling the disease.
Lewis & Clark Middle School health teacher Cody Sharp, in red, leads the group in the first lap of a marathon that included cancer survivors and people in support of someone currently battling the disease.

An assortment of fundraising efforts by Blazer Time classes at Jefferson City's Lewis and Clark Middle School will help fight cancer.

Exercise studies have shown that exercising 30 minutes a day, five days a week can help prevent many cancers. So, Dr. Cody Sharp, the school's health teacher, ran a marathon Thursday on the Lewis and Clark track to show the importance of exercise.

Sharp also found out recently he has qualified for the Boston Marathon in April 2011. Less than one percent of the world's population can say they have run a marathon and only a fraction of those runners can say they have taken on Boston.

Thursday, students joined him on the track during their health and physical education classes, as did several school district personnel and community members.

The student council also made T-shirts available to commemorate the event, with all proceeds being donated to the American Cancer Society.