Thanks very much to everyone who donated via my fundraising page! I set a goal of $100 and raised $170! Yea!
Jennie Hartman and Sandra Fogler.
Two friends of mine. Jennie – lost her battle with breast cancer nearly two years ago. Sandra – is fighting it now.
I ran for both of them.
Saturday morning in downtown Columbus, OH, 35,000 people ran and walked to show their support for fighters and survivors of breast cancer as well as to honor those who fought the good fight, but ultimately lost the battle. Of the 35,000, roughly 1,700 were cancer survivors which, I think, is awesome!
Here’s a link to a nice story with plenty of video from Saturday.
Downtown Columbus – and yes, that’s my finger in the corner of the picture. Sigh.
It was a great day, albeit a tad cold for May – low 40s for the start – but at least it stayed dry. We were lucky because the rain didn’t start until well after the race for the walkers and families was complete.
Here I am – a bit chilly at the start, but rarin’ to go!
Before the race actually started Saturday morning, we all made way for two trolleys filled with women currently fighting breast cancer, but who were unable to actually walk or run the race. We did our best to cheer them on as enthusiastically as we possibly could. We were there for them and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get all teary – eyed as they went by.
On one of the bridges we crossed were a bunch of signs about breast cancer and how diagnosis – especially through early detection – can greatly increase a woman’s chances of survival. One sign said that nearly 1,800 women lost the fight to breast cancer last year in Ohio alone. One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every two minutes in the US. That’s 30 women every hour!
Downtown Columbus along the river
Along the route was a ton of entertainment in the form of live bands and – my personal favorite – two drum lines, one of which was playing the last half mile. Somehow my thoughts went to high-stepping which – I didn’t do. (but I wanted to!). You can’t top a good drum line!
In addition to the music along the way were lots and lots (and lots) of people cheering us on, yelling out “You can do it!” or “You’re almost there!” at every turn. It was great. I didn’t listen to music on my headphones during the race because I didn’t want to miss anything! At one point going down Nationwide Blvd, there was a group of young dancers dancing to Pharrell Williams’ “Happy.” 12-13 years old, tops, and wow – they were really good, too! (I know because I’d slowed a bit to walk).
Start of the line up for the 5K walkers
Of course – right after that, I was passed by a lady wearing a pink shirt. Pink shirts were reserved for the cancer survivors. If a cancer survivor is passing me up, then I’d better get my butt in gear because if they can go to hell and back with all their treatments and worries and chemotherapy and who knows what else AND still run the race, then I should quit whining about being out of shape and start running again, too!
Yea! One of nearly 500 volunteers working the race.
I think the best part of the race was the Thunder Tunnel. We started on Front street and cut across Spring Street to High Street. When we turned on High Street, it started – the revving of a couple hundred motorcycle engines. Picture a couple of city blocks just lined with Harleys and with each one, at least 1-2 riders who were either high-fiving the runners and walkers or revving the engine AND high-fiving the runners and walkers. Many of them even sported pink wigs, pink hats, pink gloves, etc. I didn’t expect it, but it was very moving – and not the first time tears came to my eyes that day. Even with the tears, I – along with many others, I’m sure – was grinning from ear to ear.
And then it hit me that I’d been running the whole time so far, so I went back to concentrating on my breathing…just breathe!
Speakers from the lead up for the race start – TV and Radio personalities – including Stacey McKay from Sunny 95 – the only one I knew! Plus – Mayor Coleman
It was a good run and even though my pace wasn’t the fastest – and I’m totally ok with that – I can say that I actually jogged a fair amount of the race – most of the first two miles, in fact. So – if I can jog that much this time around, I can jog more the next time around. And the more I jog, the more speed will take care of itself, right? I’m excited! Yea!
My final time was under 42 minutes. Of the timed chip runners, I was 723 out of 861. I didn’t race it to win it, I raced it to both finish and do better than last time, which I did, so I’m pleased with that.
After I ran the race and crossed the finish line, I grabbed some water and some fruit that volunteers were handing out and then worked my way back onto the course to meet up with my friend, Ginger, who was racing for her sister, who would have been 43 on Saturday. We met up on the Broad Street bridge and I walked the last mile again with her brother, niece and friend.
Ginger and some biker friends. That’s Ginger with the pink hair! 🙂 Great job of highlighting! (Thanks Ginger, for letting me borrow this picture!)
I think I’m going to turn this into an annual run. It’s a great cause. I ran for two women who are very dear to me and seeing the women here who are survivors of breast cancer run it as well, it just pushed me to be better.
I just look forward to the day when it’s no longer a race for the cure, but just a race to celebrate the survivors.
Tour de Bruyère 