`NOBODY'S THINKING ABOUT CANCER . . . EVERYBODY'S THINKING ABOUT HAVING FUN.' : MARATHON RUNNER HELPS ILL KIDS GO TO CAMP.

Byline: Dennis McCarthy 

``Big Ed'' Rasky will be running his 12th straight L.A. Marathon this Sunday - running it like he always does, with a few hundred sick kids sitting, in spirit, on his strong shoulders.

That's why they call him Big Ed. Big shoulders. Bigger heart.

Ed's a retired English teacher who runs marathons for terminally ill children with cancer - runs them so he can send as many of these kids as he can to a week at Camp Ronald McDonald For Good Times up in Idyllwild.

In the past nine years, he has raised $52,000 from sponsors who underwrite his run for the kids - friends, relatives, former students, poker buddies, tennis partners at Calabasas Tennis Club and former colleagues from all the schools he taught at in the L.A. Unified School District for 36 years.

In all, the 71-year-old West Hills runner has more than 350 people throughout the Valley backing him up with a dollar a mile for the 26-mile marathon.

Big Ed then takes the money and backs the kids.

This year, he has received $8,000 in pledges, which means he'll be sending 16 kids with cancer to summer camp this year. It costs about $500 a week for each camper, he says.

If the numbers hold up, and, unfortunately, they usually do, a fourth of these kids won't be around in two years, Big Ed says.

That's why it's important - no, necessary, he says - to give them all this opportunity now. Chances are, there won't be a later for many of them.

``All the kids are bald, and some are missing an arm or a leg, while others are in wheelchairs,'' he says. ``But the moment they all get to camp and meet each other, they start having the time of their lives.

``Nobody's thinking about cancer,'' Big Ed says. ``Everybody's thinking about having fun.''

It gets tough, sometimes, to convince people that a camp with the Ronald McDonald name in it needs any more financial backing than the giant McDonald's Corp. behind it.

But the truth is, Big Ed says, McDonald's provides 11 percent of the $1.5 million annual budget to keep the camp open year-round to serve 800 kids with cancer from all the Western States.

The rest of the financing comes from the contributions and efforts of people like Big Ed, who also volunteers at the camp during the summer.

``We have over 500 people who give up their vacations to work for nothing at the camp,'' Big Ed says. ``That's how important it is for us to give these kids one glorious week they'll never forget.''

If anyone wants to help Big Ed carry those kids 26 miles on his broad shoulders this Sunday at the marathon, give him a call at [phone].

Also, if there are any younger marathon runners out there who might like to pick up the mantle for Big Ed in the coming years - ``Hey, I ain't getting any younger,'' he says - give him a call.

You're not going to find any greater inspiration to keep going when you hit the wall at mile 20 than Big Ed's kids up on your shoulders.

A memorial service for Pedro Banegas, the Northridge Neighborhood Watch block captain who was killed last week, will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Napa Street Elementary School in Northridge.

The memorial, organized by police officers and members of the Valley's Neighborhood Watch program, will be the last time for the community to honor a courageous man who gave his life trying to make his slice of the Valley safer for his neighbors and family.

The parents and teachers of students at Reseda Baptist School are busy scrambling to replace auction items stolen in a break-in at their school last weekend.

The items - CDs, boom boxes, VCRs, gift baskets - were to be auctioned off at a March 15 fund-raiser held to lower tuition rates so families of modest or low income can still afford to send their children to the school.

``Our school is for everyone who wants a private Christian education, not just the elites,'' said Principal Richard Jensen. The school has been in the Valley since 1971 and has an enrollment of 165 children.

The theft has cast a pall over everybody at the school because so many people, especially parents, have worked hard for a year now to solicit items for the auction, Jensen said.

``They've taken it upon themselves to canvass the merchants in their neighborhood for gifts, and now, most of the items are gone,'' he said.

If any businesses or individuals want to help the school come up with new items to auction off March 15, they should contact Jensen at the school - [phone].