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A trail race held in honor of Rebecca "Cookie" Wiggers was able to raise a surprising amount of money for Hospice of Warren County.

The 1 Tough Cookie Trail Race on held Sept. 6 was organized by Cookie's daughter Shelly VanOrd with the help of her sister Kandy Wiggers Liffner and John Willis. It was the hope of the Wiggers family and sponsor Allegheny Racers and Pacers that by developing and promoting the race, they would convey awareness of the importance of health and wellness in the fight against the development of cancer.

Cookie Wiggers died in 2008 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Hospice of Warren County was instrumental in overseeing Cookie's end-of-life care. This led VanOrd and her co-organizers to donate all the proceeds to Hospice. The end result was a $2,800 donation to the organization.

"We were surprised with the amount of money raised," said Hospice Executive Director Elsa Redding. "We were overwhelmed by the number of people who participated."

In addition to being a tribute to Cookie Wiggers, Redding said the race was also the group's tribute to the Hospice philosophy, "to promote quality of life, to preserve dignity and indeed celebrate life."

Hospice volunteers and employees were impressed with the organization of the race.

"That group did everything for (the race) to be a first-class event," Redding said. "We were just delighted."

The money raised by the event will be used to fund many un-reimbursed services that Hospice of Warren County provides. According to Redding, there are plans to make the 1 Tough Cookie Trail Race an annual event.