2009 Susan G. Komen Race

As Josh and I got closer to the main fields where everyone was gathering, I could see more clearly the faces of the crowds of people. There were young, old, able, unable, black, white, skinny, fat, survivors, supporters of survivors, men, women, and everything in between. And it struck me that after all these years of doing this race (7 and counting) I never really stopped to take the time to appreciate all of the diversity in those that are affected by breast cancer. Or any cancer really.

The race was amazing, as I participated for the first time in the Raleigh region. Compared to the 10, 000 that I am used to in Winston-Salem, Raleigh had over 22,000 walk/run. Over 2 million dollars were raised and 1.7 of that is kept in the capital city. Usually in the past I typically go to the race and take in the experiences of the vendors and walk/run in the race and go home. This year I had very different experience.

Of course this year, I brought Josh with me and he was experiencing his first 5k and his first Komen Race.....so that was a lot of fun. But I personally did a lot of watching and "soaking" as I like to call it. As we would walk around the main vendors before the race, I actually watched the interactions of families, teams and supporters. I read t-shirts, watched as friends and families took pictures, I smiled as I would see a survivor walk by with a sign that said "survivor, 1 year or 20...." it did not matter. Survivor was all I needed to see. And when we walked the course, people were lined along the streets with banners and signs that had words of encouragement not only for the survivors, but for the walkers for fighting for a cure. One older woman sat on her porch all alone holding a sign that said," Survivor, 30 years and counting". She had to be a least 80 years old. I could not help but tear up and think of my grandmother. She was a 30 year survivor.

The whole race was exhilarating this time and perhaps it was the way I was supposed to have experienced it this time. You see, this year was my 7th year and I was beginning to get an "itch". Before the race, I was wondering if my time had run it's course for this cause. Because no one could walk with me this year in my family and because I had to go to a new city....I felt that there were too many "signs" that led me to believe that perhaps it was time for a change.

However nothing could be farther from the truth.

This race reinvigorated me as if I had just discovered this as my grandmother was slowly dying. The experiences that I had on Saturday were there for me to realize that I am needed more than ever to continue to help support the cause. I know that we still need to continue to raise awareness for funding, we still need to educate women for early detection and we need to keep fighting for coverage earlier. So I clearly see that my role is not over and my work is far from being over. What a gift I was given at the race, what a gift.

Perhaps the lesson for me, as with anything in life, is that every once in awhile it is healthy to stop and look at things from a different perspective. It allows me to clean out the cobwebs, shake up the creative juices and allow for the energies that once motivated me in the first place!

JAR

p.s. For more information on the Susan. G. Komen Foundation : http://www.komen.org/