Founder Rob Emrich marches down Road of Life in memory of his sister

Rob Emrich wants to keep his sister's memory alive forever.
He's on his way to doing just that as he recently completed a walk across Ohio to help fight the battle against cancer.
"I'm walking between 18-20 miles per day but I really don't think about it," Emrich said during his recent stop in Wooster.
"My sister passed away from cancer so I started the organization in her memory."
The organization Emrich refers to is the Road of Life, the operating arm of the Keren Rebecca Emrich Foundation, named after his sister. Emrich founded Road of Life because he wanted to help create innovative ways to battle cancer. The Bicentennial Walk, named for this year's 200th anniversary of Ohio, is one of those ways he's completed his goal.
"The walk starts off the substance college prevention program," Emrich said. "We stop at colleges along the way and try to recruit students to be ambassadors for the fourth-grade program we have started. I have been doing a Web journal every day for the fourth-graders to see. We teach them basic things to keep them cancer free... things like sun protection and pesticides."
Six others who work and are friends with Emrich travel behind the organization's founder throughout his walk.
On Sep. 17, the group spent the day at The College of Wooster, passing out fliers and getting students interested in the nonprofit organization as they walked past Lowry Center.
The group also has the mile dedication program, in which people can dedicate a mile of Emrich's walk in the memory or honor of someone who has suffered from cancer. Dedicators can choose to give an optional donation that will go directly to help continue research for a cure. Of the 312 miles making up Emrich's walk, 275 have been dedicated. Those can be views on the organization's website at www.roadoflife.org.
Emrich completed his walk Sep. 20, just in time for the group to travel back to their headquarters in Columbus where they will sponsor a 5k walk and run at Ohio Stadium on Saturday. More information can be found on the website.
Road of Life president Matt Youngner said going to the college campuses and talking with people all over the state is a wonderful experience.
"The best part is when you meet people who will respond to our purpose. It's incredibly moving to talk with people who've experienced cancer and get feedback from them. We're pretty pure and genuine about what we're doing," Youngner said.