MONROE — For the past 17 years the Darlington cross country team participates in the Run Across Wisconsin, raising money for cancer research and awareness. On June 15 the Redbirds left Lake Michigan just off 1st Street in Kenosha and headed west. 

“There are very few spots to get to the lake around Kenosha — it’s mostly private residences,” said Arnie Miehe, Darlington’s head coach. The Sieg Foundation, which is in honor of the late Kurt Siegenthaler is a popular group in Darlington, Miehe said, and “Kurt Siegenthaler’s sister found us a spot to get to the lake.”

The group followed back roads for much of the journey and arrived at Katie and Tom McGuire’s house before sundown with food, drinks and several people waiting.

“It was like a celebration,” Miehe said. “Pizza from Pizza Hut, Beverage Mart donated all the drinks, Swiss Colony donated a cheese tray and desserts. The McGuires are something else.”

The next day the team, which joined the Darlington Educators Association in the event, finished the run, traveling from the McGuire’s farm just south of Monroe on County B to the Mississippi, touching their feet into the water at a boat landing in East Dubuque.

“They learn that lesson of generosity,” Miehe said of being a part of the run and other volunteer efforts. “They’ll be EMTs, firefighters, they’ll help with the relay for life. It’s a great thing for the kids and the community.”

The event brought in between $3,000-$4,000, with $980 dollars collected by passersby during the run. Over the past 17 years, that total is north of $30,000. Seven vans and 38 runners made the trek this year, with each runner taking a half mile stretch at a time in a relay.

“It’s a good experience for the kids. Everyone has been touched by cancer,” Miehe said. 

Miehe himself was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in June 2018 and went through treatment during the summer and into the cross country season.

“It adds a different twist to it, it adds a new meaning to the process,” Miehe said of the run. “I don’t drink, or smoke and I eat healthy.”

The team dedicated the 2019 run to Darlington Middle School social studies teacher Sean Leary. He has been battling cancer, and word came across during the run that his newest test results came back — saying he’s cancer-free.

“The kids found out on Facebook, or Instagram — I’m not on any of that. But it was a pretty cool thing to come across the day of the run,” Miehe said.

Two years ago, on the second day, Miehe said he was stopped with the runners in his van on the side of the road, waiting for the relay to get to them.

“Kids were tossing the frisbee around and this guy pulls up and asks me if I am coach Miehe. He said he heard about our run on the radio and he drove up from Lena. His grandson had brain cancer and he wanted to donate,” Miehe said. “So we are about to leave Monroe this year, and this 6-year-old boy comes up — it’s the kid. They give a donation and high fives. Seeing that, knowing that’s what you’re running for means a lot.”

A year ago, Darlington 7-year-old Carson Hartwig faced an experimental treatment plan not covered by insurance. Miehe said they started a fundraiser, hoping to raise about $3,500.

“Word got out, and then there was an auction with over 200 items. We raised a ton of money,” Miehe said. “The kids see that the little stories and the little things can make a difference.”

Another year, the runners came across a motorcycle rally in New Diggings.

“We brought in $400 in donations just from that. The kids were bringing money to the van and then running back because the motorcyclists were all waving their money. That’s one story that always sticks in my head,” Miehe said.

Next year, Miehe said the daughter of a Darlington native now living in Lake Mills plans to join. Next year is not a question of if the event will happen again, which wasn’t always the case.

“We had done it for four or five years, and securing the vans became a hassle. I was going to stop it for a year, but a mom rejuvenated it and got everything ready. The next year she was diagnosed with cancer. It was ironic, but now we’ll keep it going every year,” Miehe said. “Another woman whose house we run by, she lost her sister to cancer and she donates every year. She said to never stop doing it.”