The Race for the Cure

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Little Rock is one of the biggest in the country; they typically have over 40,000 people each year. So I had absolutely no plans to fight that crowd and walk (or run) in the event. My plan was to register, donate my money, pick up my t-shirt, and go have breakfast somewhere the day of the race! But it seems my friends and family had a different idea!

My friends and family got together and organized a party of folks to walk in the Family 2k Race in my honor. They finally let me in on this plan the Monday before the race. I was immediately worried because my stamina is so low I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to walk a mile and half. There was even talk of pushing me in a wheel chair, but I quickly nixed that idea! I got to the gym every day that week and walked the track to make sure I was ready.

The day of the race we all met at a friend’s house to park our cars. My brother-in-law, Adam, owns a limo as a part of his auto repair business and he came to pick us up and take us to the race. Now this is the way to travel to the Race for the Cure! No parking problems, no walking 10 blocks to the start line, no standing around. Oh no – we were dropped off one block from the start line minutes before the race began. Fabulous!

To make the day more festive, we all donned bright orange cowboy hats on our heads. No- we aren’t Oklahoma football fans… You see, when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, I kept saying, “Everybody circle the wagons and shoot!” It was my way of saying that I needed everybody to gather around me to help fight this disease. Also, I seemed to gravitate towards the color orange once I lost my hair – I’ve particularly clung to one orange colored scarf that is my favorite. So – the orange cowboy hats were a perfect salute to my cancer journey. Below are a couple of the little cowboys that walked with us. The biggest one (Eli) belongs to me, the other two are family friends. Eli covered his face with his pink bandana and called himself the cancer bandit!




The race was amazing. When we got out of the limo we could see a river of people flowing by. As we merged into the stream, I quickly realized there was an ocean of people as far as we could see – both ahead of us and behind us. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. Our orange hats turned out to be a great idea; they were so bright you could easily spot anyone in our group! And I have to tell ya, it was the most orderly group of 46,000 people I have ever been in. No one was rushing or pushing – no one ever even bumped into me! Look at all the people:





The walk was slow but fun – it took us about an hour to complete. Every quarter mile or so there was a band playing or a radio station blasting tunes. Supporters - mostly men, but women too - lined the sides of the streets and clapped and cheered as everyone walked past. One exciting moment occurred when we were crossing the Broadway St. Bridge over the Arkansas River. The bridge was swaying so heavily under all the foot traffic that it was literally making us stumble! We paused to take a picture of the river but quickly decided to forget the picture and get the heck off that bridge. I know they are meant to sway like that, but yikes!

It was very heartwarming to see all the signs people were wearing on their backs. The signs told who they were honoring or memorializing with their walk in the race. The signs said things like, “I love you Sara” or “I miss you Mom,” (which brought a tear to my eye.) And imagine how surprised I was to run into some people I know who had my name printed on their backs! I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. I also received emails later from two friends saying they had worn my name as well. Wow.

At the end of the walk, they had a special finishing “gate” for survivors. My sister and I ran the gate together. Not only is she an 18 year survivor of breast cancer herself, but she has made the entire journey with me. In fact, Ben and Eli should have run the gate with me too. Although they’ve never had breast cancer, they are survivors of the disease.

When the race was over, Adam picked us up in the limo (again – one block from the finish line!) and took us back to our cars. We all trekked over to my house where a host of chefs (Ben, Dan, Janet, and my Mom) had prepared a sumptuous brunch of baked eggs, cheese grits, homemade biscuits, apple soufflé, fruit salad, green salad, assorted baked goods, and a small pot of cowboy beans. Of course we had bloody mary’s and mimosas too! I drank my fair share of champagne and had to take a little nap before the day was over :)

The organizers of the Little Rock Race for the Cure have every reason to be proud. It was such a well run, well supported event. Over 46,000 people participated and raised over 2 million dollars!! It is so encouraging to see so many people united over a single cause. It is a truly unbelievable event.

All in all it was a wonderful day and I am so glad we did it. I felt so honored by everyone that attended. I’ve said this many times and I’ll say it again – I never realized how many good friends and relatives I have until this disease showed up at my door. If I gain nothing else from this journey – I know I am loved.

Now really – can you ask anything more of life than that?

(Okay… I have to go find some tissue now!)

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