'Blue' runners race through Gibson Quad

When 16-year-old Seth Gambill sprinted across the finish line at Saturday"s second annual NOLA BlueDoo Run, it wasn"t hard to see that every step in the 2-mile run across campus had a purpose.

Adorned in blue body paint, the high school wrestler wore the words “In Honor of Pa” across his back like a sports jersey to pay tribute to his grandfather, a prostate cancer survivor who has been battling the disease for more than six years.

“And he"s doing just fine,” said Gambill, who joined his 63-year-old grandfather and a dozen family members at the annual race and celebration, which is held in Gibson Quad to celebrate prostate cancer survivors, increase awareness about the disease and raise funding to fight it.

This year"s race raised more than $134,400 for prostate cancer research and attracted almost 600 runners and registered participants, many dressed in blue for prostate cancer awareness. Hundreds more showed up just for the after-party.

“I"m thrilled with our turnout,” said Dr. Oliver Sartor, director of the Tulane University prostate cancer research program, who noted that many came to see celebrity grand marshal and Tulane alumnus Christian LeBlanc, star of “The Young & The Restless.”

LeBlanc reigned over a sea of blue revelers as master of ceremonies. His TV character had prostate cancer, and he consulted with Sartor to learn how to honestly portray what men go through as they seek treatment.

“Through the process of this storyline, I would use Dr. Sartor as my resource to make sure I was on track. You take on a responsibility when you take on a storyline like that, to be honest,” LeBlanc said.

The show dealt with the side effects related with prostate cancer treatment and its impact on couples.

“It was a very interesting story about what women go through when they see the men in their lives dealing with this very specific type of cancer and trying to convince them to get help,” he said.