Race for the Cure

Today I completed the Northeast Ohio Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for the sixth year in a row. I started doing the race when Ellin, my friend and boss at the time, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Happily, six years later Ellin is doing great. Anyway, I know that breast cancer is something that affects many many people in our lives and that some of these people are not as lucky as Ellin. So I will continue to support this great cause. The walk is my favorite way to do this as it's a very uplifting event. I love being surrounded by so many people who are either survivors or people who support them. Anyway, here are a ton of pictures of my morning at the Race. This post is dedicated to all the survivors and the many other people whose lives have been affected by breast cancer.

Right after we arrived, I lost my two friends. I panicked. There were tens of thousands of people. Was I going to have to walk by myself? Can you walk by yourself when surrounded by tens of thousands of people? Why was I in such a hurry that I lost my friends?

But then, I found them: Abby and Donna (two former co-workers).

I was racing in memory of: Corrine (my honorary grandmother), Laura J. (my mom's cousin), and my friend, Sarah M.'s mom. I was racing in celebration of: Ellin (my former boss), Rondys (a family friend), Coe (a nurse from my breastfeeding group) and Amy J. (a family friend).

A first glimpse of the masses.

A little bit of sculpture near the race site.

Me in my tennis shoes and pink pants.

People in front of us.

Even more people behind us. And if you look closely on the righthand side, you can see the runners heading toward the finish line.

A little inspiration. "In Celebration of Me 3x (13 yrs)." You go, girl!

Another "behind us" shot.

And another "in front of us" shot.

Windmill outside of the Science Museum.

Our pathetic finishing time. To our defense, we spent a LOT of time waiting for my friend while she stood in line for the porta-potties. Advice: Don't drink a lot of coffee before walking 5K.

A local ice cream maker was one of the sponsors.

Of course, I had to indulge. It was DELICIOUS! And for once, the weather was nice enough to eat some. For the past 4 years, it's been freezing and raining.

And, at the end of the race, as we were getting a bite to eat, we found Ellin! Our inspiration for this race. Doesn't she look great! You go, girl!