A few weeks into summer vacation, after the thrill of homework-free days and nights wears off, many people find themselves passing the time dreaming up elaborate plans that they assure themselves will actually come to fruition because, for once, they have no other demands on their time.

As children, these big ideas involved building forts, setting up lemonade stands or putting on productions with other neighborhood kids, but once you hit puberty, people aren't as willing to give you a quarter for sugar water or sit through an amateur performance of Cinderella meets Spiderman.

Consequently, childish dreams are traded in for the goals of earning money or, the completely unnatural act of continuing to go to school during the summer, but this was not the case for Hyrum Oaks and Jeremiah West when, one July evening in 2007 they batted around the idea of organizing a marathon in their hometown.

"We were playing games and kind of tossed around the idea," said Jeremiah West, volunteer director for the Utah Valley Marathon. "I didn't think it was really serious."

But once Hyrum Oaks, race coordinator, got Provo and Orem's approval, the Utah Valley Marathon went from fantasy to reality in less than a year.

By November, Oaks already had The Daily Herald signed on as a sponsor and, with their media support, the race came into being.

"It's been a tremendous amount of work," Oaks said. "But I grew up in Provo and it always bothered me that there's no marathon in Provo or Utah County for that matter."

Oaks and West have been friends since they met on the Timpview High track and cross country team. These BYU students are experienced runners; Oaks has run 22 marathons, and West ran for the BYU track and cross country teams for two years, although he is still working on his goal of running a marathon.

Unfortunately, despite being in charge of the Saturday event, neither of the founders will get to participate in the actual race.

"I have to sit out and make sure that things happen the way they should," Oaks said. "Maybe I can run next year."

The unique thing about the Utah Valley Marathon and 5K, besides being brought into actualization by two university students, is that all the proceeds are being donated to the Children with Cancer Christmas Foundation.

"None of us are taking a cent," Oaks said.

Founded in 1998 by a cancer survivor who wanted to help families with children fighting cancer around the Christmas season, the foundation has grown and now provides support for such families throughout the year.

"About 10 years ago my dad was the Santa for our ward and after the foundation's Santa fell through, my dad stepped in and helped, " West said. "He is an accountant so he was just volunteering, but he got them set up as a nonprofit organization, and he was their Santa for a few years after that."

Opportunities to volunteer at the race are still available, including helping with the start and finish, course setup, course cleanup, water stations and directing runners.

Those interested in volunteering must attend a volunteer meeting at the following location: BYU campus in W012 BNSN on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Signing up for the race ($45 for the marathon, $19 for the 5K) can be done on the official Web site, uthavalleymarathon.com.