Saving Second Base. Friends of Boobies. Pam's Posse. Stupid Boobies. All of these teams plus about 30,000 other racers joined our team, Denise's Darlings, for the Race for the Cure on Sunday. We had a wonderful time running for a wonderful cause. A group of friends and I formed the team Denise's Darlings for a dear friends mom - who is a breast cancer survivor. Denise is a beautiful lady who puts a huge smile on your face in just moments of being around her. I was completely reminded of what an amazing cause Race for the Cure is and how cool it is to use your favorite hobby to support a charity. (I also got a priority check in the process.)So thanks to 30,000 runners trying to get to the exact same exit on I-35, I showed up 25 minutes past our team's meeting time and 5 minutes until race time. This type of thing drives my little type A mind insane. I was fidgeting, texting, singing, chugging coconut water, checking facebook (the car WASN'T moving) all while sitting still on the highway that morning. By the time we parked in the North 40 and headed to the Starbucks tent, I barely had time for a quick pic (there is ALWAYS time for a cute photo op) before hustling to the starting line - which by the way was "by the pink balloons..." Ha! There was only as many balloons as participants. So Tim, Kristen & I followed the crowd to what had to be the starting point, wiggled our way in and we were ready... just as the gun went off.
So I tend to get a little competitive in situations like this. I waved good bye to the Tim & Kristen and hit the road. It was a hilly course and a HOT morning. Somehow in the sea of pink shirts (WHY oh WHY did we decided to buy cute pink shirts for this race? Next year - BROWN shirts people!) I found myself dodging other runners, getting a little frustrated at the crowded streets and trying to get to the head of the pack. (Who am I kidding?! I'm not Kenyan.) I cruise along, find my friend Autumn, who's running kicks my butt, but decided I should try to keep up. Well I am pretty sure I slowed her down, but she wouldn't let me lag behind. We ended up finishing together and had a decent finish.
SO somewhere along the end I realized I had missed the entire point. The POINT of Race for the Cure isn't setting a PR (for some it might well be & that's okay) The POINT of race for the cure is celebrating an amazing cause. It's celebrating what it means to be a woman and joining forces with women everywhere to call attention breast cancer - an incredibly scary monster. It's enjoying the entire course - the signs, balloons, shirts, cheers, bands - the ENTIRE celebration. I think it hit me in the face when I saw a woman finish in her wheel chair with a big sign that said, "I just finished my 2nd Chemo". Yeah. I missed the point. This woman was thrilled to be there. To be hot, sweaty, thirsty & creeping across the finish line. And here I had been
complaining about the lack of organization, warm bottles of water, crowded parking spots and the hilly course.
Next year I will do it again. I hope the crazy competitive runner stays at home in bed and the runner who gets teary eyed with emotion joins me next year=) When all was said and done it was a beautiful morning... We had a great time with friends AND I got my priorities in check=)
