Race for the Cure

Today, my mom, mother-in-law, and daughter dressed up in pink and headed down to Reid Park for the 11th Annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I had never done this before, but I was excited to captain a team for Meetup Moms. We were the "Hakuna MaTATAs" and my friends Lisa, Angela, and Cathy (along with hubbies and kids) came along, too. Other than the traffic jam pulling into El Con Mall for parking, I was very impressed with how well the event was organized and staffed. There were over ten thousand participants expected and police officers were directing traffic and pointing people where to park, like at SPring training games. This was GREAT, because we didn't have to circle around looking for spots, we just followed the signs and parked where they told us. City buses were used as shuttles to move people from the parking lot to the staging area, saving us two miles of walking! We were all running late getting to the start line, but thanks to cell phones, we were able to meet up quickly and easily. A team picture was taken, and then off we went!



There were so many people walking, that we were moving at a snails pace for about half the walk. We had fun pointing out funny Team names and creative T-Shirts. My personal favorite was the group wearing "Tanks for the Mammaries" tank tops. Survivors wore special pink race bibs and many people had "In Celebration of..." and "In Memory of..." bibs pinned to their shirts, telling us who they were racing for and reminding us of how many people have suffered from breast cancer. It is truly scary if you think about it. But it was also great to see how clever and funny some groups were. Take THAT cancer! Some groups had signs and props, and we even saw another group wearing "Hakuna Matata" shirts-- I guess I'm not the punny genius I thought I was! Or at least not the only one! :)


It was impossible to keep the group together once the walk started, but that was okay. I had a great time walking with my moms! The weather was great, and Emma literally slept through the entire walk. We joked she "Slept Through The Cure!" and kept thanking her for making the event so enjoyable (as opposed to stressful had she been fussy).


We finished the walk in an impressive (or embarrassing) one hour and 27 minutes. If we had started on time and those darned Native American dancers (in full headdress complete with drummers) hadn't been holding us up, we would have finished soooo much faster. :) But hey, whatcha gonna do? We weren't being officially timed, so what did it matter, other than it is actually harder to walk really really slow than it is to walk fast! (Who knew?) We headed to the booths and scored some free yogurt from the Yoplait tent and scarves from the Ford tent. The Eegee line was too long, so we parked it under a shady tree and rested and ate a granola bar. Walking 2 miles an hour can really take it out of you! ;)


Overall, we had a great time, and I am already looking forward to doing this again next year. It was very empowering to be a part of something so big, and to feel like you are making a difference, even if it is just by walking in a big circle! :)