The race to feed the hungry

Andrew Glazer

NEWPORT BEACH -- He admits that running across the Grand Canyon may have

been pointless.

But Bob Hogue said the 43 people who will each jog 20 miles Saturday will

be doing “God’s work.”

Hogue -- one in a group of runners who a few years ago made the

cross-canyon run for fun -- decided to raise money for children’s

charities with a long-distance relay each spring.

He scaled down the distance and difficulty of the run -- his group once

ran to Mexico and back -- so that more people could participate.

“We decided to make it worth something,” said Hogue, who lives in Dover

Shores. “And children don’t have a choice about the way they end up.

They’re usually the worst victims.”

Hogue and his wife, Elaine, started the Relay Run for Hungry Children six

years ago.

Participants run four, five-mile loops over 24 hours, each raising more

than $500 in the process.

“At least that’s what we try for,” Hogue said. “But we’re getting older

and slower. We’ll finish when we finish.”

The runners, ranging in age from 18 to 65, will be escorted by mountain

bikers.

The money raised in past relays has been given to two orphanages in

Mexico, a program providing food and clothing to children living in

motels, and the Orange County chapter of Young Life, a Christian youth

group. The past three relays raised more than $50,000.

Barbara Pott, 34, raised more than $1,000 this year with her running

partner, Marissa Wayt. The two knocked on the doors of Newport Beach

homes along each of the four routes for this year’s relay, asking for

donations and permission to post signs advertising the event on their

lawns.

“They were very excited,” she said. “Last year, when we ran by, most

people didn’t quite know what they were doing. This year, I look forward

to seeing the signs as we run by.”