| Carleton “Hour of Power Relay” supports sarcoma cancer research |
By: Jeff Wald, Sports Editor
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Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 12:04 am
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The Carleton College swimming and diving team participates in the Ted Mullin Hour of Power Relay for the fourth straight year on Tuesday at Thorpe Pool. Mullin, a former Carleton swimmer, died of sarcoma on Labor Day weekend in 2006.
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NORTHFIELD — Ted Mullin gave everything he had in his short time with the Carleton College men’s swimming and diving team.
So for an hour on Tuesday, it made sense for the Knights to continue a tradition in his honor. Mullin died on Labor Day weekend in 2006 after a battle with sarcoma, a form of cancer that’s most common in young men ages 16 to 20.
Carleton, along with more than 100 other schools across the nation, participated in the “Hour of Power Relay” for cancer research at Thorpe Pool. It’s all in an effort to remember Mullin as well as raise money and awareness for sarcoma cancer research. The event started in 2006, not long after Mullin’s death, when he was a college sophomore.
“He was a dynamite kid, and the team wanted a way to pay tribute to his spirit and memory,” said Carleton swimming and diving coach Andy Clark. “We wanted to create something beyond one person and beyond one team.”
All the proceeds from Tuesday’s event go to the Ted Mullin Fund for Sarcoma Research at the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital. There are currently more than 40 different forms of sarcoma cancer.
The event started with 15 teams in 2006. Last year, the number of participating teams expanded to 104, including 85 college and university programs, 17 high school and club teams and two student-abroad teams. In 2008, the nearly 6,000 athletes raised over $50,000 for the fund, bringing the three-year total to more than $100,000. Carleton alone has raised an average of $4,000 locally in the event.
It is a relay event, which means all six lanes at Thorpe Pool were occupied for an hour straight on Tuesday. Swimmers from both Carleton men’s and women’s teams swam 50 yards at a time, and they attempt to do it so that every lane is swimming on the same lap. It’s exhausting physically, but is well worth the cause.
“It’s pretty emotional towards the end,” Clark said. “It’s all 100 percent effort, and it involves a lot of teamwork. It’s a chance for kids to think beyond themselves. It’s a shared experience around the nation.”
Mullin, originally from the Chicago area, was diagnosed with sarcoma in May of 2004 after a synovial cell tumor was spotted at the top of his right calf. He went to the doctor after pain in his right leg was bad enough that he could hardly walk. It often takes a long time for sarcoma to be diagnosed as it’s often masked as a sports injury.
In 2005, Mullin’s cancer had spread and there were spots on his lungs. He had rounds of chemotheraphy, surgery to remove the tumor and 33 doses of radiation therapy for the nine centimeter tumor. It wasn’t enough as sarcoma took Mullin’s life in September of 2006.
Rick Mullin, Ted’s father, said his family has been blessed by Carleton’s loyalty to his family throughout the tough times.
“His absence is present from our family every moment of every day,” Rick said. “There is a hole missing from our family. To see this event get started and expand has been invigorating and somewhat humbling.”
Like with any athlete, Rick Mullin said his son loved the challenge that swimming brought.
“He was competitive. It was always about winning,” Rick said. “But no matter what, he loved the individual challenge. He could go out there every race and try to set a new best time. He could always go out there and try to beat himself. That’s what he loved.”
Between Clark and Carleton assistant coach Craig Johnson, it was a no-brainer to get this event started.
At around the same time of Mullin’s death, Northfield native Jim Penning, a Northfield High School sophomore at the time, had been diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma. He has fought the cancer for more than three years, and is now a freshman swimming at Luther College.
Ewing’s sarcoma is a malignant round-cell tumor. It is a rare disease in which cancer cells are found in the bone or in soft tissue. The most common areas in which it occurs are the pelvis, the femur, the humerus and the ribs.
Penning swam in Tuesday’s event at Luther.
“We actually started to get involved with it the second year the event was at Carleton,” said Mark Penning, Jim’s father. “Swimming is what got him through this. He wasn’t going to let it keep him down. His attitude through everything has just been remarkable. He’s determined.””
Ewing’s sarcoma has an average survival rate of about 10 percent. Other than traveling to Rochester for treatments, Penning didn’t miss a day at school because of his illness. Penning still has to go to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester every three months for the next four years to be sure he is cancer free.
The “Hour of Power Relay” is unique in that the funds raised go directly to the research institute at the University of Chicago.
“We love the fact that it raises money for sarcoma research. Otherwise, there are limited research funds for it,” Penning said. “That’s key, because the basic treatments for sarcoma haven’t changed in 20 years.”
— Jeff Wald covers local sports. He can be reached at 645-1111 or jwald@northfieldnews.com. |
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