This weekend, Guam has a chance to do something simple, healthy, and meaningful together as a community.
Strides for the Cure is back.
For 25 years, Donna and Jude Baker have helped build this event into something much bigger than a run or walk. It has become a way for families, survivors, caregivers, and people throughout our island to come together around hope, remembrance, health, and action against cancer.
And to me, that connects directly with what we believe here at CRANK Martial Arts Academy.
Martial arts is obviously about learning how to defend yourself. We teach striking, grappling, discipline, confidence, and how to stay calm when things get uncomfortable.
But the older I get — especially as a father, coach, and academy owner — the more I realize that martial arts is really about something bigger.
It is about building healthy people.
It is about building healthy families.
And hopefully, over time, helping build a healthier community.
Health Starts With the Habits We Teach Our Kids
One of the things I love most about this year's Strides for the Cure is where the support is going.
The proceeds from the event will support Guam Cancer Care's Kids for the Cure program, which focuses on educating children in grades 3 through 5 about healthy lifestyle choices, cancer risk reduction, early detection, nutrition, physical activity, and understanding their bodies.
That hits home for me.
Every day at CRANK Martial Arts, I see kids walk through our doors.
Some are shy.
Some have a ton of energy.
Some are athletic, and some have never really done anything physical before.
Our job isn't just to teach them how to throw a punch, hit a takedown, or escape a bad position.
We want them to understand that moving your body is normal. Working hard is normal. Taking care of yourself is normal.
Those habits matter.
And the earlier we can introduce positive habits to our kids, the better chance we give them to carry those habits throughout their lives.
That's why I think the mission behind Kids for the Cure is so important.
It's not only about reacting when someone gets sick.
It's also about education and prevention before that happens.
Family Wellness Doesn't Have to Be Complicated
Sometimes we make health and fitness way more complicated than it needs to be.
You don't always need a crazy workout program.
You don't need to be the fastest person.
You don't need to be an athlete.
Sometimes health looks like taking your kids for a walk.
Sometimes it's signing up for a 2K together.
Sometimes it's getting outside instead of staying inside all morning.
Sometimes it's showing your children through your own actions that staying active should be part of everyday life.
That's another reason I think Strides for the Cure is such a great family event.
You can run the 5K.
You can walk the 2K.
You can bring your kids, your parents, your friends, your training partners, or your whole crew.
The goal isn't that everybody becomes a competitive runner.
The goal is that we get out there together.
No One Fights Alone
There's another part of this event that really connects with martial arts.
Community.
One of the greatest things about training is realizing very quickly that you cannot do everything alone.
You need training partners.
You need coaches.
You need people who challenge you.
You need people who encourage you.
And sometimes you need somebody next to you when things get hard.
Guam Cancer Care's message is that No One Fights Alone, and I think that is something all of us can understand. Guam Cancer Care has spent years providing support to cancer patients and their families through services such as financial assistance, transportation coordination, medical supplies, and patient navigation.
Cancer has affected so many families in our islands.
Some of us have fought it ourselves.
Some of us have watched someone we love fight it.
Some of us are remembering somebody who is no longer here.
Showing up for an event like Strides for the Cure is one small way of saying:
We're with you.
Let's Get the Family Moving
This Saturday, October 3, Strides for the Cure celebrates its 25th anniversary in Tumon Bay with a 2K/5K event. The event began with Donna and Jude Baker's vision of educating Guam's youth about cancer and the importance of physical activity, and this year's proceeds will help expand Kids for the Cure to more elementary schools throughout Guam.
For me, this is exactly the kind of thing we should get behind as a martial arts community.
Family. Health. Movement. Education. Community.
Those things matter whether you're inside the academy or outside of it.
So I'm encouraging our CRANK Martial Arts families — and really anybody reading this — to come out.
Bring the kids.
Walk it.
Run it.
Make it a family morning.
Talk to your children about why you're there.
Let them see hundreds of people from our island getting active and supporting something positive.
Because sometimes the biggest lessons we teach our children don't happen when we're sitting them down and giving them a lecture.
They happen when our kids watch what we choose to show up for.
Let's show up for our health.
Let's show up for our families.
Let's show up for our community.
And most importantly, let's remind the people fighting cancer on our island that no one fights alone.
We'll see you out there.
Si Yu'us Ma'åse.
Frank "The Crank" Camacho
CRANK Martial Arts Academy
Strides for the Cure — Saturday, October 3, 2026 | Tumon Bay
Registration information is available at StridesGuam.com.