Group to run Wasatch Back in honor of friend who lost battle with cancer

When Christine Brimley's friends decided to erect a memorial in her memory, they considered all the usual options.

And then they thought of Brimley the runner, the triathlete, the always-willing, high-energy, usually-clad-in-pink beauty and decided that the standard remembrance just wouldn't do.

"I wanted to have a living remembrance to Christine," said fellow runner Anne Killgore, who spearheaded a fundraising and construction project in Brimley's honor. "By no means did I do this alone ... She has been helping me out every step of the way. This belongs to all of you — and to the community of Salt Lake."

Then she encouraged everyone to drink from Brimley's fountain.

"Let's keep the energy going," said Killgore, who, along with 23 other friends, will run the MyoMed Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back this weekend to honor the mother of two who died of colon cancer June 15, 2007.

About 40 of her friends, many of whom will run the 181-mile endurance relay this weekend that starts in Logan and finishes in Park City, gathered at the fountain on Foothill Boulevard on the Shoreline Trail Tuesday night to remember Brimley and celebrate her life.

They said a fountain, which sustains and refreshes passers-by as well as athletes, is the perfect memorial to a woman who was planning to compete in the Wasatch Back when she lost her battle with cancer last year.

"Every time I go by and someone is taking a drink, I think, yes!" said Killgore with a grin. "She really wanted (to run the race) again. She'd been raising money for it."

A record-setting 7,000 runners will compete in the Wasatch Back this Friday and Saturday, a race that is the second-largest relay race in the country and the second-largest running-only event in the state. MyoMed Ragnar Relay race officials donated all 24 of the entrance fees for the two teams to the fountain effort.

Tanner Bell, co-founder of the race series, said the race was sold out three months ago and, once again, has nearly doubled in size.

The relay, now in it's fifth year, is sold out at about 578 teams, and officials had to turn about 100 teams away. Because it's sold out, race officials want those who've participated this year to have first crack at signing up for next year. Registration for the 2009 race will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday during the post-race festivities.