People will have the chance to tighten their shoelaces and participate in the Tom Skram Memorial Fun Run during this year's Ice Cream Days .

The 3.1 mile run is a new event to be held Saturday, June 14. Ice Cream Days will be June 11-14.

(Advertisement)

The run will be cosponsored by the Le Mars YMCA and the family of Tom Skram Sr., who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer Oct. 22, 2003.

He was well known in Le Mars for his involvement with the church, as a teacher at Gehlen Catholic School and his former ownership of Subway.

The run will be cosponsored by the Le Mars YMCA and the Skram family, better known as Team TOOT, which stands for "Tom's Official Okoboji Trotters." Tom Skram Sr. moved to Spirit Lake in 2000.

Since his death, the Skram family has been running races and triathlons around the country to raise money for research and awareness of pancreatic cancer.

Proceeds from the memorial run will be donated to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCan) and Floyd Valley Hospital's Oncology department for cancer education.

Ann Cole-Nelson, community relations manager at Floyd Valley Hospital, said the hospital's share of the funds will be used for community education support groups.

Angela Loutsch, of the YMCA, said the partnership between the Skram family and the YMCA was made when Tom Skram Sr. became and advocate to bring a YMCA to Le Mars.

Tom Skram was a huge fan to try to get the Y here," Loutsch said. "He really was one that helped us come about."

The Tom Skram Memorial Fun Run will begin at Gehlen Catholic School at the corner of Plymouth Street and Sixth Avenue Southwest. Anyone can participate in the run, not just professional runners, Loutsch said.

Mike Skram, youngest son of Tom Skram Sr., said he hopes the run will become an annual event during Ice Cream Days because it's another tool to raise money and build awareness.

"My dad had such a good presence there (in Le Mars,)" he said. "We thought it would be a good fit."

Mike Skram estimated that among all his family members they have run either as individuals or a team in at least 20 races and triathlons throughout the country. Tom Skram Sr. left behind five children and their spouses, his wife, Jan, and 14 grandchildren.

Mike Skram said he hopes this year's Tom Skram Memorial Fun Run can raise about $10,000 to help educate the public on a disease that is particularly hard to diagnose.

"It's difficult because the pancreas is located in an odd spot," Mike Skram said. "It can develop without you knowing it."

In his dad's case, Tom Skram Sr. was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2002 and died in 2003.

"There just aren't real good indicators," Mike Skram said. "That's a hope to fund part of that research to help find those indicators early on."

According to the PanCan website, currently there is no blood test to diagnose pancreatic cancer, which develops when the pancreas grows out of control.

"It's the number four killer type of cancer, but one of the lowest rates of funding," Mike Skram said. "We are entering some races and things and trying to make some funds."