Feet that Help to Cure Cancer
This weekend, people from all over Southern Arizona raced for the cure! …for breast cancer, that is! Over $1 million were raised at Race for the Cure, and I was proud to be one that contributed! This was the first race I’ve done for any sort of cure, and it was so well organized for the large amount of people there, that it wasn’t even overwhelming.
Alexis, Michelle and I are minutes away from racing.
My day started at 5:45 a.m. when I woke up to get ready for the big day. I met my cousin Michelle and her friend Alexis at the El Con Mall parking lot at 6:45 so that we could take the Sun Tran to the race, which started at 8 a.m. Waking up that early was terrible for so many reasons, but when I saw the line of cars just to get in the parking lot, I realized I was not alone. We crossed the street to Reid Park, pinned our racing numbers to our t-shirts, and went looking for where we were supposed to be.
The start line for the 5K run, started at 8 a.m. on South Country Club Road, halfway between East Broadway Boulevard and East 22nd Street. We ran north on Country Club and then looped around Reid Park, past the zoo and Hi Corbett Field. It was a really strange experience running on such busy roads as East Broadway Boulevard and East 22nd Street, because there were no cars on the road, and the runners had all the lanes to themselves.
The start of the 5K, at 8 a.m. Walkers on the right, runners on the left.
I have never seen so many people from Tucson all together in one place at one time. Every kind of person was there. There were children running the same 5K I was, and I don’t know how they did it! They did have encouragement from UA cheerleaders and local high school cheerleaders along the way, though.
The race was a great experience, and I’ve never run so far at one time in my life. It definitely would have been harder to do by myself.
The view behind me. Breast cancer survivors wore pink shirts.
The three of us ran it in 35 minutes, and there was tons of food for the runners at the end. Yogurt, bananas, oranges, energy drinks, marshmallows with fondue, and eegees kept everyone strong. With all the high spirits around me, I even said that I felt like I could run it again! The adrenaline, support and sense of community were enough to make my morning incredible!
I’m still in awe how thousands of people can come together in Tucson for one cause that reaches so many people around the world with breast cancer. As many feet as it took to Race for the Cure, I’d sure say we helped accomplish something great that will affect people over borders and more borders.
Reaching Hands Across Boundaries 