Next week, hundreds of people will be lining up at Wheeling's Heritage Port for the Debbie Green Memorial 5 K race.

The race is in honor of Debbie Green, who died in 1972 at the age of 7 from leukemia.

This year's fundraiser will help someone locally. NEWS9 talked with the family taking part in the race for the first time this year.

Last year, the Bednar family found out their son has leukemia, and since then they've been trying to focus on the future, which will include the Debbie Green Memorial 5 K event, they said.

Edward and Raquel Bednar said their son, Logan, was feeling a little sick in July of 2006. However, testing revealed the situation was much worse then expected. Logan had leukemia.

Logan has been undergoing chemotherapy since three days after his diagnosis.

"We're optimistic. We won't take anything other than the fact that he's going to make it through this. We believe with all of our hearts that he's going to beat this cancer and he's going to be fine," said Edward Bednar.

Logan is responding well to treatment, but radiation therapy could be in his future. The family said its prepared to face that long road.

"When you're given a hurdle, you get over it. You just tackle every day," Bednar said.

The Bednar family said it will always be part of a race it knows helps so many people in the valley.

"I'm not a runner, and now I will be every year," he said.