In the summer of 1997, 12 runners gathered in Sugar House Park to run a 5K race to raise money for breast cancer research. They were inspired by the 10-year battle against breast cancer of their friend, Judge Anne Stirba.

Stirba died in 2001, her cancer proving too severe to overcome. Nevertheless, the runners still gather every year to complete the same race, now called the Judgesrun 5K, as they did on Saturday. Except now, they are comprised of an army of nearly 400 runners and walkers raising money for a cure.

"[Stirba] was just a very giving, warm person," said friend Jan Thomas of Sugar House. "This is a great way to honor her."

Unquestionably influential in life, Stirba may be more so now. She was the first woman ever elected to the Utah State Bar Commission and served as a district judge for several years. But now, she is the stimulus of a growing effort to solve the puzzling disease of breast cancer. Through the Judgesrun Foundation, donations and contributions to the Huntsman Cancer Institute continue to grow each year. The race raised more than $8,000 in 2007 and more than $9,000 in 2008. Peter Stirba, Anne's husband, had a goal for 2009 of $10,000.

"We had really very little participation early on," Peter Stirba said. "It's grown every year, the foundation has grown every year and the contributions have grown every year."

One of the newer participants is Darin Goff, 42, of Cottonwood Heights. Goff is an attorney who works in Salt Lake. He ran the race for the second time this year, despite mostly staying away from 5K runs. Goff prefers to run longer distances and does so three days per week, when he runs for 15 to 18 miles. He ran the Salt Lake half marathon this April, one of the few organized races he commits to each year. But the Judgesrun 5K has a special appeal.

"I think we all know somebody who's had an issue with cancer," Goff said. "It's a difficult disease that we would like to see resolved."

Although the cause for a cure is Goff's main motivation to make an exception from his normal routine, the quality of the race plays a role as well. When the Judgesrun finishes at Wasatch Presbyterian Church only a few blocks from Sugar House Park, it really has just begun. A pancake breakfast kicks off the activities; awards are given to first through third place in more than a dozen skill and age categories; music plays as random prize drawings commence; people socialize with each other.

"Typically, when you finish a run they give you a cup of Gatorade and a T-shirt," Goff said.

The Judgesrun was the start of Anne Striba's influence on the fight against cancer, but her legacy has her husband inspired to do more. Peter Stirba, through the foundation, has begun an annual golf tournament held in September and has a fundraising concert planned for the spring. All of the donations and the support have increased the resistance to and awareness of breast cancer.

"That is quintessentially what we're here for," Peter Stirba said.