Running to fight brain tumors

A volunteer guides a runner toward the finish line in the Run 4 Research on Sunday afternoon at Hopkins Park in DeKalb. The event, which benefits Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, was the idea of Sam Ihm, a DeKalb boy who suffered a brain tumor and was successfully treated at Children’s Memorial. Chronicle photo HOLLY LUNDH

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DeKALB - More than 200 walkers and runners turned out Sunday at Hopkins Park for the inaugural Walk 4 Wisdom and Run 4 Research fund-raiser for brain tumor research. The event was the idea of Sam Ihm, a fifth-grader at St. Mary School in DeKalb who had a nonmalignant, 1-inch brain tumor removed in January 2004 at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Members of Sam's baseball team, DeKalb-Cortland Lightning, joined him and his family for the event Sunday. Ihm and teammates Kyle Berg, Adam Crooper, Jeremy Karasewski, Danny Petras, Jake Smith, Trenton Sopko and Eric Stone all walked the three-kilometer course. &#8220It's good” and &#8220It's fun” were the consensus of the group. Sam had a good time and was moved by the show of support. &#8220It's fun. It felt really good,” he said. The event saw the participation of 120 walkers, 93 runners, 69 families and 134 volunteers, according to Mary Overbey, grandmother of Sam. The final amount of funds raised will not be known until the Caps 4 Sam foundation receives all donations from its corporate sponsors, Sam's grandfather Don Overbey said. The Ihm family started the foundation, which sells baseball and ski caps and rubber bracelets to raise money for brain tumor research. The turnout on Sunday surprised the Ihm family. &#8220There are a lot of people. It's overwhelming,” said Sam's mother, Patty Ihm. Since his surgery, Sam has been doing well and is taking medication to prevent seizures, she said. &#8220Sammy is such a regular kid,” his mother said. Sam's neurosurgeon, Dr. Arthur DiPatri, marveled at how the family has turned their situation into an opportunity to help others. &#8220About a year ago I was left with the unpleasant job of having to tell Mr. and Mrs. Ihm that Sam had something in his brain that really didn't belong there, and what amazes me even to this day is that at a time (that) was perhaps the lowest point in their lives, what do they do?” DiPatri said. &#8220They think of other people and they actually started to raise money for brain tumor research even before Sam had his surgery, and I think that is just absolutely amazing.” The Ihm family and Sam's pediatrician, Dr. David Phillips, highlighted the importance of further research to better understand the reasons why people develop brain tumors. &#8220(Years ago) there were about several hundred new (brain tumor) research articles published a year; now there are more than 10,000 published a year,” Phillips said during his keynote speech Sunday. Runner and Northern Illinois University graduate student Melissa Bowman, 25, has been running for a while and found out about the event while having coffee at her favorite coffee shop. Bowman has participated in similar events to raise money for charity. &#8220I really liked this one, because they are doing brain tumor research,” Bowman said. Bowman enjoyed the route and the camaraderie that events like these create. &#8220It's that fun thing about running that you can connect with people. I am here by myself, but I really liked it,” she said. Runners and walkers had different routes and were provided with refreshments after finishing. The event also included a massage station, a face-painting station, entertainment for the kids, a raffle and a live band. Plans for next year's event are being discussed, Patty Ihm said. &#8220I would love to see it happen again,” she said. &#8220(DeKalb) is such a wonderful community and has risen to the occasion. I am so grateful.” Editor's note: The Chronicle will publish the names of the winners of the 5K run at a later date.