Runners Go Three-Days Strong For Cancer

A three-day marathon relay is under way on the National Mall to raise awareness about various cancers that threaten women. About 50 people are signed up to run 10 miles each before passing on the baton. The runners will continue their relay throughout the night.

Many of the participants are surgeons and cancer survivors. Karen Bate, with the National Race to End Women's Cancer says, in the past two decades breast cancer awareness campaigns have led to 34 percent fewer breast cancer fatalities.

"We hope to do the same thing for these below-the-belt cancers - ovarian, cervical, endometrial, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar," she says. "These cancers are not talked about, but one woman every seven minutes dies of them."

D.C. has the highest rates of ovarian cancer, and officials are urging women to get regular tests and to look for signs of the disease early on.

The official 8-mile race is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 6.