With a little help from friends, Grace Nelson was able to walk 3 miles Saturday, Aug. 1, on a foot that just the day before was cause for radiation therapy.

Aubree Tsurasaki was by her side for support - and help finding a cure for a rare cancer that has brought the Apple Valley 14-year-olds closer than ever.

The Race for Grace, a 1-mile and 5K walk and run planned by Aubree, raised $29,312 for the Rein in Sarcoma Foundation. Nearly 400 participants rallied around the cause at Eastview High School in Apple Valley.

"It's just humbling," said Grace's father Scott Nelson, chief financial officer at Starkey. "It was amazing to see that a couple kids could put something together."

His company, headquartered in Eden Prairie, contributed more than $20,000 to the Race for Grace, including donations from offices in Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Italy.

Grace was diagnosed Jan. 8 with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer, after noticing a lump on the arch of her foot.

"I was nervous," Grace said. "Hearing that was really hard."

The active teen had to step away from soccer and gymnastics, and missed her final months at Falcon Ridge Middle School while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

"It was devastating," said her mom, Anne Nelson. "She was always very healthy. It just came out of the blue."

According to the Rein in Sarcoma Foundation, there are 10,000 new sarcoma diagnoses nationwide each year. While the rare cancer affecting soft tissue and bone accounts for only 2 percent of all adult cancer diagnoses, it is among the top five for children.

"None of us had ever heard of [rhabdomyosarcoma] before," said Karen Tsurusaki, Aubree's mom.

Aubree took action and began planning the event in March. She spent a couple hours most nights organizing volunteers, collecting registration forms and creating a website, http://race4grace.webs.com.

Her mom initially expected 25 runners and a $200 donation.

"It was not going to be a big thing," she said. "Of course, Aubree had something else in mind."

They set a goal for 200 participants. That nearly doubled to 398, including a woman who drove from Kentucky after reading Grace's story online.

Aubree said she organized the race to raise money for research on a cure.

"So no one else will have to go through it," said Grace, finishing her sentence.

The Shoreview-based Rein in Sarcoma Foundation has donated nearly $500,000 to the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center over the last eight years. The money has quadrupled the amount of sarcoma research and tripled the number of staff seeing sarcoma cancer patients, said Peter Wyckoff, president of the foundation board.

He and wife Sue Wyckoff now lead the volunteer organization started by their daughter Karen before her death from synovial sarcoma. She passed away in August 2001 at age 25 shortly after the first Rein in Sarcoma picnic near the carousel at Como Park in St. Paul.

The Race for Grace planned by Aubree is the biggest fundraiser to date for the foundation outside of its annual picnic, Sue Wyckoff said.

"This girl is very amazing," she said, "and Grace is very amazing for her strength and her courage to be the face for this. They're very determined when it comes to their friendship and doing something abut this illness."

Aubree and Grace have been best friends since meeting in fourth grade at Greenleaf Elementary School in Apple Valley. They enjoy typical teen girl activities - sleepovers, scrapboooking and movies - and are looking forward to starting their freshman year at Eastview.

Aubree said the Race for Grace will be an annual event to show ongoing support. Grace recently finished radiation treatment, but will have chemotherapy through the end of the year.

The Nelson family said they are overwhelmed by the support from the Tsurusakis and everyone in the community who came to the Race for Grace.

"It has really been amazing," Anne Nelson said. "My husband and I and [Grace's older sister] Hannah are just awed by this. We're really proud of Aubree."

To learn more about sarcoma cancer, visit www.reininsarcoma.org.

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