Today several of us from the English Department (and a couple of friends) participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Our illustrious team, partially pictured in the shots that follow, was aptly titled the Running Readers. Our name was alright, but I think the award for best team name should go to "The Breast of Friends". I don't know any of those people, but I saw them at the finish line in their spectacularly lime green t-shirts. Excellent.
The race itself was actually more emotional than I thought it would be. A lot of the racers had little signs on their backs that said "In memory of..." or "In support of" or "In celebration of..." their loved ones who have or have had breast cancer. There were even some signs with photos and messages written to loved ones who have died. I was alternately walking and running, but I was doing both alone, so it was nice to be able to silently reflect on everything around me.
After I completed the race, I joined my faster teammates on the sidelines and cheered on the survivors as they crossed the finish line and had their names read over the loud speakers. It was a hopeful end to a really meaningful event. I'm really glad I decided to participate in the Race for the first time this year. I'm going to be sure that this isn't the last time either.
3 comments:
I got invited to do this and then totally blew it off. That would be the same morning that I got the call from my mother. Go me.
Anyway, is this the race where they have the survivor lap with candles? I know one breast cancer walk/run does something like this but maybe I'm thinking of the wrong thing.
p.s. I really love your hair like that. It's not the usual level of ferocity I have come to expect from you, but I like it. It's fierce because of how un-fierce it is. If that makes sense.
There weren't any candles or a survivor lap at this race. The survivors wore pink and got recognized but no candles.
i hope your comment about my hair doesn't mean you made that horrible picture any bigger than it needed to be. i'm glad you like it, though. :)
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