BY THEA JARVIS

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--Since lacing up her running shoes five years ago, Janet Kelhoffer has used her sport to run half-marathons, raise money for charity and fight a personal battle with cancer.

None of these triumphs, however, prepared her for the thrill of being chosen to run a short lap in the Olympic Torch Relay in Atlanta this summer.

Mrs. Kelhoffer, a 52-year-old Dunwoody resident and school psychologist for the archdiocesan Department of Catholic Education, was among 917 Georgia heroes selected to participate in the state portion of what is expected to be the longest relay in Olympic history.

"I was surprised and thrilled," said Mrs. Kelhoffer, who moved to Atlanta 12 years ago with her husband, Dan, and three children.

The 15,000-mile, 84-day relay began in the U.S. in Los Angeles April 27 and involves a total of 10,000 Americans from 50 states--community heroes, former Olympians, public figures--who will bear the torch through 42 states. The historic flame is expected to reach Savannah July 10 and wend its way to Atlanta for 30 hours of hand-offs before ultimate installment in the Olympic Stadium July 19.

Though honored by and excited about her Olympic role, Mrs. Kelhoffer is modest about her community hero status. "I've done pretty normal, average kinds of things," she said. "Volunteering has always been an important part of my life."

Struck by the personal stories of her Olympic Relay partners, whose unselfish efforts earned them a slot on the team, Mrs. Kelhoffer is less inclined to tout her own generous spirit and warm concern for children and young people.

In addition to holding a full-time job testing and referring students in archdiocesan schools, Mrs. Kelhoffer regularly lends her professional expertise to a local chapter of Rainbows, a support group for children who have lost a parent or sibling through death or divorce.

She also spends two weeks a year at Teen Missions International, a "bootcamp" for young people preparing to serve as summer missionaries, and sits on the board of Camp All-American, a Christian day camp with special outreach to single-parent families. As a Stephen Minister at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in Dunwoody, where she is a member, Mrs. Kelhoffer has been a friend and professional guide to a woman plagued by chronic depression.

"She is a hero to me and to the administrators, teachers and families in our schools," wrote Maureen Kane, superintendent of Atlanta's Catholic schools, in her letter of recommendation submitted to the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games earlier this year.

Mrs. Kelhoffer is also "a true role model for persons facing cancer," Ms. Kane said, courageously continuing work and volunteer activities through months of chemotherapy and recovery from surgery.

In 1991, just a year before being diagnosed with colon cancer, Mrs. Kelhoffer had embarked on a personal fitness campaign that involved diet and exercise. Friends encouraged her to begin running and she took to the sport naturally, she said .

"I was a little chunky," admitted Mrs. Kelhoffer, who dropped 30 pounds and now enjoys a lean, athletic build.

Cancer threatened to sidetrack her progress and her life as well.

"I found myself in the emergency room with abdominal pain and woke up with a colostomy," Mrs. Kelhoffer remembered. Doctors found a tumor had perforated her abdominal wall, requiring a temporary colostomy that was later reversed.

"There was a lot to try to process," said Mrs. Kelhoffer, who was "astounded" at the diagnosis. Cancer had surfaced at a time when she was setting new goals and experiencing new freedoms. Her children were off to college and her personal and professional life was moving forward. Ironically, there had been no warning signs, no family history of cancer. Mrs. Kelhoffer had taken good care of herself.

"Because I was pretty fit, I wanted to do anything I could to get back into wellness," she recalled. "I wanted to keep myself in the well world and I was very, very determined that I was going to be positive."

Thirty days after surgery, Mrs. Kelhoffer began chemotherapy and returned to work. She resumed weekly Rainbows sessions and started exercising at a church-sponsored wellness center near her home.

During year-long treatment, Mrs. Kelhoffer attended Georgia State University, studying for an education specialist degree. She even completed a research project on how support from family and friends affects persons undergoing cancer therapy.

Mrs. Kelhoffer's own circle of cheerleaders encouraged her progress. Her family was "wonderfully supportive," she said, and her oncologist, a runner himself, applauded her return to the track. Atlanta Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM, then suffering with the cancer that eventually claimed his life, sent a plant "in empathy."

Mrs. Kelhoffer returned to running, building up to 18 miles a week. Ten months after her operation, in July 1993, she ran the Peachtree Road Race.

"It was a real slow time, but I felt happy to do what I could do," she said. "I was happy for each day."

Weekly intravenous cancer treatments were tolerable, Mrs. Kelhoffer insists today, "nothing very invasive." She had no hair loss, no debilitating nausea or short-term memory problems. "I didn't have the amount of energy I usually do, but I didn't find myself stopped."

It was, nevertheless, a time of interior stretching.

"You have to confront the spiritual, how the loss makes you a better person," Mrs. Kelhoffer said. "It can purify you and strengthen your faith. By overcoming anger and fear, you grow stronger."

Facing cancer "helps you reframe things. You have to walk through it and overcome it," she said. "It challenges your perspective" about daily frustrations. "You get closer to people."

Mrs. Kelhoffer has a date with her physician every three months to make sure she remains cancer-free. Grateful for her good health, she not only plans to carry the Olympic torch, but will also volunteer at the Olympic Stadium, where she will welcome visitors, collect tickets and seat spectators.

"I think it's going to be fun," she said with palpable enthusiasm. "I'm thinking we'll make a video."