About 50,000 “Pink Warriors” were not going to be stopped by the heat, humidity or early Saturday morning start time for the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.
The 5K walk/run gets bigger and more enthusiastic every year to raise awareness and money for a cure for breast cancer.
Nancy Brinker, had a heartfelt story about why she started the Komen Foundation two decades ago: “Thirty years ago I made a promise to my dying sister, Susie, that I would work to end breast cancer forever.”
Brinker hasn’t let the memory of her sister fade. There are 140 such “Races for the Cure” every year around the world. But the event here in Washington is the flagship for all others.
Cancer survivors walked arm and arm with family and friends. Many teams wore that signature pink we all associate with the cause. A lot of the folks out there lost a family member or close friend to the disease.
William Scott -- dressed for a run not a walk -- said, “I had a sister who passed. So every year I run.”
Groups were united in the march, but matching t-shirts, backpacks or pink ribbons identified those who had come to the event together. And there was music pumping all along the route to keep the walkers peppy.
Singer Candy Coburn, whose performs the song “Pink Warrior,” was one of the celebrities walking along with everyone else.
“My grandmother fought breast cancer for almost 10 years and did lose her battle with it, “ she said. “But I was writing a new record last fall and really wanted to have a song for all the survivors and their families.”
Addison Francis, a nine-and-a-half-year cancer survivor, was upbeat. She wore stunning pink high-heeled earrings to let the world know she was walking in style for a cause she so cares about. Her message: “Stay positive and keep on fighting.”
This year’s race raised more than $4.5 million to be used for research, treatment, counseling and prevention.
