Personal experience drives rock crawler to promote cancer awareness

By D.A. Wilkinson

After losing her mother to cancer, Kelly Young is raising funds to battle the disease.

COLUMBIANA — Kelly Young is a fighter and competitor, and she likes taking on tough tasks such as driving over a rough, boulder-strewn trail or raising money for a disease that killed her mother.

She is the Web master at 4 Wheel Drive Hardware, 44488 state Route 14.

The company has its own line of equipment for Jeeps and sells other brands for what Kelly calls the after-market sales.

In other words, the company sells every kind of part or addition that can be put on a Jeep. And if you didn’t know, Jeeps are one of the few vehicles for which there is a plethora of accessories for people who think a stock vehicle is a nice place to start building.

She’s been doing sales for 10 years and driving in rock-crawling competitions for five years.

Last June, however, Kelly’s mother, Marie, died after a battle with colon and liver cancer.

Marie was her rock-crawling team’s biggest fan, Kelly said.

Kelly had her Jeep repainted pink, the color of breast cancer awareness, and black, and began raising funds to battle cancer.

She said that as of Friday, she has raised about $2,000 from supporters.

Locally, there are about 54 people who take part in rock-climbing events under the name of the North East Crawlers. There are no events locally, but there are some in Pennsylvania.

Kelly and her crew cross the United States to take part in events under the We Rock World Extreme Rock Crawling. The crew is sponsored by 4 Wheel.

Rock crawling is not an especially well-known sport, but it is growing. B.F. Goodrich is a sponsor, and some events are shown on Spike TV, Kelly said. There are five sanctioned events between April and September.

According to one Web site, rock crawlers climb over tall boulders, straddle deep ravines and work their way up rocky steps and ledges.

“You have 10 minutes to drive the entire course,” she said. The lower the score, the better.

Young drives the pink Jeep while Aaron Schwab, one of her co-workers, stands outside and directs her to drive over the huge rocks. They can communicate through headsets but often cannot see each other because of the steep angle of the vehicle.

Drivers can’t muscle their way over the rocks. Schwab must help direct the Jeep to keep it within tight parameters.

Young recalled that at one event, she had to basically drive straight up. With the right equipment, “You can do that with your Jeep,” she said.

XFor more information, visit www.crawltocurecancer.com.

wilkinson@vindy.com