For those looking to help fund the fight against cancer while also running through picturesque desert land where dozens of movies were filmed, a race next month may be for you.
The John Wayne Grit Series kicks off with an inaugural half marathon and 10K at Pioneertown on May 7.
More than 50 films and serials, mostly Westerns, were filmed during the 1940s and 1950s at Pioneertown, a working studio northwest of Joshua Tree built to replicate a 1880s town.
Participants will start at the town and make their way through the Pioneertown Mountains Preserve with views of the Sawtooth Mountains.
All proceeds go towards the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, the nonprofit which started the series three years ago.
“We wanted to inspire other people to get out and run. And we thought, ‘What better way to get people out on trails than where John Wayne filmed some of his movies?’” said Stacy Mulder, the foundation’s vice president.
The iconic actor, also known as Duke, was stricken with lung cancer in 1964. He beat it after surgeons removed one of his lungs and some ribs.
Although he first followed advice and withheld his diagnosis from the public, Wayne appeared to change his mind later and bring awareness to the condition.
After the surgery, he was quoted in an Associated Press article: “I thought to myself: ‘I was saved by early detection. Movie image or not, I think I should tell my story so that other people can be saved by getting annual checkups.’”
The disease struck again 15 years later, however. Wayne died of stomach cancer at 72.
His family founded the foundation in 1985 with the mission “to bring courage, strength and grit to the fight against cancer,” according to the organization’s website.
The nonprofit funds a surgical oncology and research program, educates young people on skin cancer and provides support for families and those suffering with cancer.
The first Grit Series event was held in 2019 in Lone Pine and the nearby Alabama Hills, a popular filming spot for Westerns with unique rock formations where Wayne filmed 13 movies.
The second race that year took place in the rural Colorado town of Ridgway where the 1969 film “True Grit” was shot. Wayne won his only Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn.
Mulder said many people who take part in the series have either known people affected by cancer or had it themselves.
“We have lots of people that run because they’re cancer survivors and they want to celebrate that,” she said.
In 2021, 136 people ran the Pioneertown race. Mulder said more than 200 participants have already signed up for this year’s event which requires a registration fee or a commitment to fundraise a certain amount.
As of Saturday, the Pioneertown race had raised $27,700 with a goal of $40,000. The series features three other races later this year, each with their own fundraising goal:
“John Wayne loved to be outdoors and had a very active, adventurous life and we want to bring that to people as well,” Mulder said. “We want to give them the opportunity to be out in these beautiful places in our country and to be able to have an impact by helping us raise money to fight cancer.”
For more information and to register for the series, go to johnwayne.org.
Daily Press reporter Martin Estacio may be reached at 760-955-5358 or MEstacio@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.