Race For The Cure

Saturday I took the opportunity to "run" in the Race For The Cure. I participated in this race last year and could remember there being literally 16,000 participants, most of which were walking for an individual they know who is a breast cancer survivor or fell victim to the cancer. This year I took my niece with me in the jogging stroller and stood in another giant crowd of 16,000 people waiting to get the race started. Because I had the stroller, I was instructed to move towards the back of the line so the "runners" (which I was) could get a start ahead of the walkers and strollers. Because I am so compliant (this is what I do for a living after all), I headed for the middle-to-back of the crowd. As I was standing waiting to start, a friendly woman greeted me by saying, "You look like a runner." I was flattered. I do run often and for long distances. I was glad to see it showed. In our brief conversation I learned that this vibrant 70 year old woman was also a runner in her younger days. In fact, she had run 26 marathons in her life and was the first woman to win the St. George marathon in two consecutive years. Two years ago she was struck with breast cancer. She was in hospice care and her outlook was grim. She testified it was by the grace of God and credited the fact that she was so physically active that her life was spared. She was walking the race with her family - grown children and several young grandchildren. Her story was inspiring and had me pumped to go for a good run.

When the race started I really wanted to take off. It was about five minutes into the start that I crossed the actual starting line. It was then that I realized that 15,990 of these participants were walkers and I wasn't going anywhere fast, particularly with a stroller. So I did what no compliance officer would ever do - I broke the rules. I crossed the pink tape and ran outside the race boundaries. I was making a good run for it too when Mr. Police Man forced me back inside the pink tape where I found myself walking and trying to maneuver through the crowd. It was all I could do to not be frustrated. I kept telling myself the purpose of this race was not to win or set any personal race records, but to support those like Ms. Rust who fought a hard battle. Well, forget that, I wanted to run. So about 3/4 miles into the race I ditched the crowd and took a short cut up to the next block where I could see actual runners. I ran hard for the last 2 miles and I felt good about it. You might think I cheated - don't worry, I didn't. This race doesn't keep score.

Here is a picture at the finish line of me with Noelle, Kati and her friend Megan. Don't be frightened by my natural beauty.