La Porte teen brings awareness to end pediatric cancer

LA PORTE, TX (KTRK) -- A La Porte High School student spent months building 580 crosses. Tristen Nowak plans to erect them all at this weekend's 4th Annual Snowdrop ULTRA 55-Hour Race and Relay in Sugar Land.

Nowak said the crosses represent the number of children who will die from pediatric cancer in the same time-frame. He spoke with Eyewitness News about the project.

"It took several months. It took a majority of my Thanksgiving break, a majority of Christmas break. It took weekdays and weekends," said Nowak. "My hope is that they realize the impact of what they're doing."

Hundreds of runners and walkers plan to take the .74 mile loop course for 55 straight hours. The Snowdrop Foundation hopes to raise $100,000 this weekend. In a decade since their founding, we're told they've raised $3 million in the fight against pediatric cancer.

Nowak plans to put out 13 crosses every hour for the duration of the race. He hopes to become an Eagle Scout with the project's success.