Students run to remember friend

For many participating in Saturday's Hoosiers Outrun Cancer, the event offers a chance to get together with friends and family to celebrate the life of a former IU student who lost his battle with cancer in April. \nCraig Sowder had been at IU for two years before he died of angiosarcoma six months ago. During his time in Bloomington he made a lasting impact on those he met.\nSophomore Greg McQuade is one of those people Sowder touched.\n"He was a tremendous person, one of the best I've ever met," McQuade said. "He loved everything and everybody."\nMcQuade, along with Jill Sowder, Craig's mother, have organized a group to walk in the 5K portion of Hoosiers Outrun Cancer in memory of Sowder. \nSowder became a member of Alpha Sigma Phi and McQuade expects several of his brothers to participate, as well as Sowder's family and friends from home. \nCraig's Story\nCraig Sowder came to IU in the fall of 1998 from Carmel, Ind. He joined Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity and became known as "Donut" because of a stone he wore on a hemp necklace -- a stone that was perfectly round with a hole in the center. \nIn March of 1999, Sowder noticed a pressure in his chest, and that he was sometimes short of breath. One day he was rushed to the hospital after passing out, and doctors drained three liters of fluid from his pericardium, the heart's protective covering. He went to St. Vincent's Hospital in Indianapolis, where open-heart surgery revealed the dark nature of Sowder's illness -- cancer.\nThe doctors found a tumor on his right atrium, and he was diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma -- cancer in his heart that had spread to his lungs. It is a rare and highly aggressive form of cancer, affecting only .001 percent of the population.\nThe hospital in Indianapolis couldn't properly treat Sowder's cancer, so he went to Houston's MD Anderson Cancer Center for chemotherapy. After six months of treatment the cancer appeared to be gone, Sowder returned to Carmel to rest and prepare for classes at IU. He was looking forward to getting into a routine that didn't center on his cancer or hospitals.\nBut Sowder's new routine did not last long. In December of 1999 he began coughing up blood; a trip to Houston for a check-up in January revealed that the cancer was back, and Sowder didn't have much time left. He returned to Indiana to be near family and friends, knowing his time was short. April 10, four months after the new diagnosis, Sowder died.\nRemembering Donut\nIt has been six months since Sowder died, and his mother admits she misses him every day.\n"He passed on six months ago yesterday," Jill Sowder said Wednesday. "His brother and I took the day off, and went to have lunch in Craig's favorite restaurant." \nJill Sowder said she hopes to see all of her son's friends Saturday.\n"We should have a big sign that says 'Team4Sowder' so we can all gather and walk together," she said. \nSowder's mother remembers him as the kind of person who, if the situation had been reversed, would have been very vocal in organizing this kind of reunion for a friend who had passed on. \n"If this was different and Craig was still here, he would be very vocal and diligent in the cause, he would be so adamant about everyone coming out as a group to help out," she said. "He believed in helping others, and would have been so frustrated by people who didn't take the time to help."\nMcQuade said he would like people to remember Sowder by his nickname, Donut.\n"Someone with a name like that is just very approachable and gives himself to everyone. It's a happy name to have," McQuade said. "He was a happy, admirable person. A lot of people could look up to him."\nMcQuade hopes as the race ends people come away feeling very emotional. \n"I hope they remember what happened to Craig, and how he affected their lives," he said. "I hope that everyone feels great about participating in something like this."\nFellow Alpha Sig Jason Boumstein, a senior, echoed McQuade's sentiments. "I hope everyone just remembers Craig and what a great guy he was," Boumstein said. "We should never let him leave our minds."\nWhen asked how she would want her son remembered, Jill Sowder was silent for a moment, and then said quietly, "definitely as a good friend, very loyal and fun-loving. He just didn't know how wonderful he was."\n"Craig would want us to do this with him if he were still here," McQuade said. \nThe events Saturday begin with registration at 8:30 a.m. and opening ceremonies at 10:15. Those who want to participate with Sowder's group should look for the "Team4Sowder" sign.