By Julia Clarke, Team Captain

After a long, courageous and exhausting battle with pancreatic cancer, Adam Zauder passed away on December 23, 2009. He was only 51. Adam was one of those rare and special individuals who walk into your life and change it forever. I was fortunate enough to have eighteen years with him.

When I first attempted to write down my thoughts about Adam’s illness, my experiences with pancreatic cancer and my relationship with the Hirshberg Foundation, it was extremely difficult because, the one person that I would have shown this too – to correct all of my mistakes, run on sentences, poor grammar and bad punctuation – Adam – is no longer here. But, let me try…

The Hirshberg Foundation first came on to my radar screen very late into Adam’s diagnosis. I was looking for some entity that could help me with new ideas or treatments for Adam’s ailment as we were running out of options and time. Unfortunately, by then, it was too late for him. But, the Foundation also gave me comfort, a new purpose, and an added bonus – a way to channel my passion for running.

In October 2009, I ran my first LA Cancer Challenge run in support of Adam, and then I signed up to run the 2010 LA Marathon on the Hirshberg Team. This run was meant to be a support run, but training turned bittersweet, and I instead ran this marathon in Adam’s memory.

Since then, Team Adam Zauder has run every LA Cancer Challenge – 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 – and has consisted of people running locally or virtually in places such as South Carolina, Colorado, and the British Virgin Islands. From the beginning of this journey, my team and I have raised close to $10,000 for pancreatic cancer research. It is our hope that we are doing some part (even if small) in the fight against this devastating disease.

Adam never gave up – on people, ideas, life and himself. In fact, he never gave up hope during the two year battle he fought against pancreatic cancer. Flying back and forth between LA and New York for treatment, he never complained about how hard it was, or how tired and sick the chemo and radiation made him. So, in his spirit, I too will never give up hope that this disease can be beat. I know the Hirshberg Foundation shares this sentiment and will continue to be relentless in their battle against pancreatic cancer. My teammates and I will continue to support them any way we can.

By Melissa Machuca, Team Captain

I am the granddaughter of Holanda Soriano, who is the inspiration and driving force behind Team Guaya. In the spring of 2007, Holanda was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She was the gentle, soft spoken, loving and spiritual matriarch of our growing family: which at the time consisted of her 9 children, 32 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, 2 great-great grandchildren and an ever-loving spouse of 66 years. She fought a tough battle and succumbed to this horrible decease in the fall of 2007. She was 88 years young. She was the first loss to our close-knit family who is still grieving her departure. Undoubtedly, she was the leader of our pack.

Shortly after her passing, a co-worker told me about the Hirshberg Foundation, their LA Cancer Challenge walk/run and dedication to pancreatic cancer research and awareness. I immediately felt drawn to the Hirshberg Foundation’s mission and knew this was our avenue to honor my grandmother and take part in the fight against pancreatic cancer. We have participated in the LA Cancer Challenge since 2007, initially participating as individuals and later as Team Guayas.

By Christel Schoenfelder, Team Captain

Our family became entangled in the fight against pancreatic cancer last June when Regina Martin received “the diagnosis.”  Based on our research, we learned pancreatic cancer is essentially a death sentence.  Although Regina had been energetic, vibrant & young at heart, we watched her become fatigued, have trouble breathing, and lose weight.  A few short months later, we were wearing purple at her funeral and the reception hall was a sea of purple.  But our story does not end there.

A family member ran across the Hirshberg Foundation website.  Our family organized a team (Martin’s Marchers) & participated in our first L.A. Cancer Challenge 5K walk.  We created t-shirts, wore carnival masks, submitted photos for the Tribute Video, wore Tribute Bibs, and designed a square for the Memory Quilt.  Our team representatives attended the Team Captain Kick-Off Party which was a great opportunity to meet the wonderful, caring staff of the Hirshberg Foundation.  Regina Martin was taken too soon- as are many others with pancreatic cancer.  Our team thanks the Hirshberg Foundation for everything they do in their fight against pancreatic cancer and for giving us the opportunity to honor the memory of our beloved Regina Martin

By Monica Moreno, Team Captain

May 05, 2011 my aunt “Chuyera” was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It was from that day on that our whole lives would change for ever. My aunt was one of the most beautiful and most charismatic women I knew. She was always laughing and was always very welcoming, kind, and loving. She never once complained about her illness and stayed strong through it all. On August 30, 2011 we lost my aunt ‘Chuyera’ to pancreatic cancer. It was then when my family and I learned about the LA Cancer Challenge.

October 2011 was the first year my family and I participated in the LACC. It was the most gratifying experience for all of us when we crossed that finish line – knowing that we had done it for our Aunt and so many fighters out there struggling every day with this horrible illness that claims thousands of lives each year. Pancreatic cancer is not a cancer that many people are aware of, it is usually not detected until it is too late. Running for a cure is the best feeling there is, knowing that you are making a difference in someone’s life to raise funds for research and to find early detection methods. We are excited to have run in our 3rd LACC this year and look forward to next year.

By Alisha Brendis, Team Captain

Dedola Global Logistics began working with Ron and Agi Hirshberg 20 years ago when they owned and operated their company, Agron. We continued our relationship with the Hirshbergs when Agi and Ron’s son Jon started their next venture, JR286, and currently provide logistics and compliance services to ENIJR286. As such, we have been involved with The Hirshberg Foundation and their commitment to pancreatic cancer research from the beginning.

Although we’ve supported the L.A. Cancer Challenge in one way or another for many years, we’ve decided to step up our efforts this time around. We promoted the event not only with our staff, but with our friends, partners and vendors. Our enthusiasm caught fire and at 13 strong we’ve fielded our biggest team to date and merrily dubbed them “The Dedolians”. The team has even engaged in a friendly fundraising competition which has helped to drive our contribution numbers higher. Go team!

This year has definitely been a family affair for us. Our team consisted of customers, vendors and several family members. Our youngest teammate, Annemarie, was just 18 months old. One member of our team, Lisa, has been touched personally, having lost her father to pancreatic cancer a few years ago.  Lisa also joined us for the inaugural Tour de Pier event last May. We are proud to have her as one of our Dedolians and look forward to supporting the Hirshberg Foundation in the future.

By Andrew Noriega

Usually, a story has a hero, a nemesis and a “happily ever after” ending. In order to tell my story I want you to know more about the main character, my personal hero and boyfriend, Dave. He has over 16 years in the U.S. Marine Corps; he is retired from a small police department in New Jersey; he was a volunteer fire chief and a paramedic. He was a part of the Ground Zero “rescue/recovery” team a couple of days after 9/11. He’s even a bagpiper and has performed for countless memorial services and never once has he asked to be compensated. In his words, “It’s the least I can do. It would be my honor.”

Dave and I met through mutual friends on Facebook and began communicating on line and on the phone for the next six months. Then he made me an offer to fly me from my home town of L.A. out to his in New Jersey to take me to National Police Week in May, 2011. I accepted! It was the most honorable and moving event I had ever attended, and to top it off, I fell in love! Since then Dave and I have spent our time flying back and forth from our homes. We made plans for him to move to LA with his 10 year old son by the end of 2012. And in spring we planned to celebrate our first anniversary at the annual National Police Week in Washington, D.C.

Unbeknownst to me, Dave was planning to propose marriage. This is where the nemesis came into play. A week prior to my visit, Dave was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. My world had fallen apart right before my eyes. I felt hopeless. After the diagnosis we both didn’t want to pretend everything was simply okay, so we postponed the engagement. Dave began treatment in Philadelphia. Back in Los Angeles, I feel into a deep depression and felt so useless to him. I started doing research online to see what the prognosis was and that was a HUGE mistake! Everything I read only pushed me further into my depression. I kept thinking, “Why would God allow me to fall in love with a man that’s 2,740 miles away and then a year later he wants to take him away from me.” I continued researching information, support groups or anything that would give me some sense of hope. That is when I discovered the LA Cancer Challenge and the Hirshberg Foundation!

Without hesitation I signed up to participate in this 5K/10K in Dave’s honor. When my co-workers found out, they encouraged me to raise money and start a team. Initially I set my goal at $250, but I found myself increasing it to $1,500. As LACC fundraising began to wrap up, I’d raised over $1,900! I was hoping to have at least 25-30 team members and then I surpassed that goal and found that Dave’s Wolf Pack had grown 73 people strong!

Recently, Dave had been responding very well to treatments. The tumor shrunk a great deal and he’d made great progress. Then on October 24^th we were told he’s in remission. For Dave, a lot of it is mental though- he’s a fighter, he’s stubborn and he’s determined. He’s Dave! He has always kept his faith in God and this is what keeps him grounded and focused on winning this battle. Now we’re working towards our “happily ever after.” Dave is truly the love of my life and he is my personal hero and I want to thank him for fighting, never giving up and always staying positive. By joining the Hirshberg Foundation at the LACC, my goal was to prevent at least one person from enduring what Dave has, and to help prevent a family from watching a loved one fight for their life. I’d like to thank the Foundation for being angels, helping me with my team and offering support in every possible way. I will always admire this man for opting to go through with his treatments and fighting to stay alive for his son and myself. He constantly reminds me that he has cancer and that the cancer doesn’t have him.

After the LACC, Dave wrote the following on his Facebook page:

“There have been days I just wanted to give up. It’s the love of Drea and my son Nick that keep me going. When Drea organized “Team Dave” for the LA Cancer Challenge, I saw all the love and support surrounding us. As some could see I simply couldn’t hold back the tears. I don’t think Drea knows just how special she really is and I have to say she truly is the love of my life. She has been my backbone through this journey and I love her with all my heart.” -Dave