For those struggling with cancer, survival and recovery is often a battle best fought one step at a time.

For Powhatan resident Gene Walton, raising money for cancer research involves a very similar process. For him however, it involves many, many steps.

While doctors wage war against cancer with research and clinical trails, Walton intends to do it with a T-shirt and a sound pair of walking shoes. The soft-spoken engineer for Dominion Virginia Power has made it his goal to walk 100 miles this year while participating in four Relay For Life events.

He is taking on the challenge in memory of his friend and coworker Dawn Haywood, who succumbed to a brain tumor in 2006.

When Haywood died, said Walton, he wanted to do something both to honor her memory and to help in the fight against cancer. The annual Relay for Life event, the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event, seemed like the perfect fit.

He competed in three Relay events last year, including the one held in Powhatan where he completed an entire 12-hour event for the first time.

Walton’s training is fairly low-tech, and consists of walking whenever he can, usually for stretches of three to four miles at a time.

Sure he suffers the usual blisters—and he’s usually a little sore the next day—but walking alongside so many other supporters keeps him focused on his goal.

Walton’s first challenge this year was completing an April 4 Relay at Longwood University, during which he walked 28 miles in 10 and a half hours.

Then, last Friday, Walton participated in a Relay held in Cumberland.

By the end of the night he had walked 36 miles in under 11 hours, bringing him 36 miles away from his goal.

Asked why he does it, Walton thought a moment and then answered with the quiet conviction of a man who believes wholeheartedly in what he is trying to do.

“Everybody has been affected by cancer in some way or another, either themselves or through someone they care about,” he said. “The cause is so important, and Relay is a very enjoyable way to help.”

Walton will be walking in Powhatan’s Relay For Life on May 30, and hopes to complete his 100-mile journey in Goochland next month.

For more information on the Powhatan event, contact honorary chairperson Liz Benton at (804) 378-8229.