Carleton College Supports Cancer Research

The Carleton College swimming and diving teams are sponsoring the second annual Ted Mullin Hour of Power Relay for cancer research on Tuesday, Nov. 6 beginning at 4 p.m. (5 p.m. Eastern) in honor of former teammate Edward H. “Ted” Mullin, who passed away from a rare soft-tissue cancer in September 2006.

The swim-a-thon will feature an “hour-of-power” relay practice. The set is one of the Knights’ favorites and the team felt it would be appropriate to run a “Leave it in the pool” practice consisting of continuous relays––using any stroke––all-out swimming for an hour. The objective is to keep all the relays in each lane on the same length. An ultimate goal of the “Hour of Power” swim-a-thon is to promote team spirit and to generate awareness of this cancer and its terminal impact on the lives of young adults.

The Knights, in conjunction with the Mullin family, have secured participation from 40 college swimming programs encompassing 13 different conferences. Additionally, the Lake Forest (Ill.) and New Trier (Ill.) swim clubs and three high-school teams will participate. All participating teams will begin and finish the swim-a-thon at the same time, using their respective and corresponding times zones from the East Coast to the West Coast. The official start time is set for 4p.m., Central Standard Time on Nov. 6.

Participants in the event are asked to gather pledges and donations for the Ted Mullin Cancer Research Fund at the University of Chicago. The U of Chicago will provide each participating team with packets of information well in advance of the event to aid in the fund-raising effort, as well as information regarding sarcoma, the type of cancer that claimed Ted's life. Last year’s inaugural event raised more than $11,000 for the Ted Mullin Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research.

Funds raised during the event will act as seed funding for the University of Chicago pediatric sarcoma research program, allowing collaborative efforts between clinicians and physician-scientists in the identification of the causes of sarcoma, at the most basic molecular and cellular levels. With a team of dedicated pediatric oncologists, orthopedists, and radiation therapists in place, the Ted Mullin Fund will support the recruitment of two additional scientists devoted to the study of sarcomas; one to focus on the molecular basis of sarcoma and the other to translate those findings into improved therapies for cancer patients like Ted.

Interested individuals or teams wishing to participate in the Hour of Power Relay should contact Ted’s father, Rick Mullin, at rmullin9@comcast.net or visit Carleton’s website at http://go.carleton.edu/12 to sign up for the event.