About 2 months ago, my big "boss" at work called me on the phone and asked me to organize a team of walkers/runners for the Komen Race for the Cure in New York City. She knows of my passion for the breast cancer cause and thought I could whip up a team of hospital personnel to participate.
I was reluctant, since the NYC race was within 3 weeks. I like time to plan, organize, gather donations and so on. I said I would do it. I signed up as "team captain" at the Komen website and started soliciting volunteer participants. The end of September turned out to be a hard time for people to give up a Sunday - travel team sports, college parents' weekends and so forth. We ended up with about 10 participants and raised approximately $5000. Not bad for a short term project, but the competitor in me vowed to raise $10,000 next year and have a team of 50.
The Komen Race for the Cure is run in many locations throughout the country and raisers millions of dollars for breast cancer research, education and treatment. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is THE premier organization for raising funds for this disease. http://www.komen.org
Our team began our carpool at 6AM on Long Island and met other team members in the city at about 7:30 AM. We were all decked out in our new team shirts - bright yellow with black lettering. (We would never win a fashion award, but we did stand out in the crowd and were easy to spot). The walk itself was lovely. It was a bit muggy, but the temperature hovered in the mid 70s and the sights and sounds of Manhattan just can't be beat.
We started out in Central Park, under an archway of pink and white balloons, and walked our way on the avenue and back into the park. The architecture of the old buildings in New York is magnificent. Once we entered the park again, the foliage, ponds, wildlife and eclectic mixture of runners, cyclists, Komen walkers, street vendors and people just enjoying Central Park, was wonderful.
There were mile markers to designate how far we'd come. (It's a 5k race, or about 3.2 miles) The pace was leisurely. There was water, soy milk and cereal provided along the route by corporate sponsors. All participants received a teeshirt in eye-catching purple and lime this year. Depending upon the amount of funds raised, you also received a sweatshirt, pen set and other items. As a survivor, I also received a pink shirt and visor.
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