One year ago in April 2013 my best friend Jermel (pictured above with me on Komen Race For The Cure race day) was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Mel and I have been friends for 20 plus years, and out of the other girls in our tight circle, has always been the one take care of her body and eat well. As a generally healthy young woman, the diagnosis was a shock to all of us. The news was very hard for me in the beginning. Since that time, the past year has been filled with chemotheraphy, radiation treatments, doctor visits and hospital stays. There were times when it really hurt to see my friend sick. Thankfully at the moment, all of this is behind us now. Exactly one month ago on May 19, Mel received her last treatment and is officially a one year breast cancer survivor.
Earlier this year, Mel asked me to run in the Triangle’s 2014 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure as a part of her team.The event is the Komen foundation’s annual major fundraising event that celebrates survivorship. Those who have lost their battle against breast cancer are honored as well.
Now ever since that time Komen partnered with Kentucky Fried Chicken in 2010 for “Buckets For The Cure”, I’d given the foundation an extreme side eye. Eating healthy, non-fried, non-greasy foods and maintaining a health weight is one of the top prevention tips for cancer, so teaming up with KFC and encouraging people to buy fried chicken for a breast cancer awareness campaign seemed very contradictory.
Mel was very enthusiastic about participating in this year’s Komen Race for the Cure. Our last year has been filled with both setbacks and small victories around her breast cancer. It has been an emotional roller coaster at times. So despite my misgivings on Komen’s past marketing campaigns, I decided to support my friend in her endeavor.
I signed up for the 2014 Raleigh Komen competitive 5K. The registration process was pretty typical. For an event as big as Komen, I was surprised on how low the registration fees were. It was around $35 and included a T shirt—then again it could have been so low because we registered so far in advance (January).
Mel picked up race bibs for her entire team (Jermel’s Warriers) so I can’t speak on how smooth packet pick-up was. Our team included friends in our circle and her family. There were 15 of us in total on race day.
Parking for the event was at the RBC Arena in Raleigh. Therefore there was plenty of parking. You then caught a bus to the event site, which was on the campus of Meredith College.
One thing I can say positive about Raleigh’s Komen Race for the Cure is the volunteers were A1. As mentioned in my Tobacco Road Marathon race review, [READ: #RapOnTheRun: 2014 Tobacco Road Marathon Review #TobaccoRoadMarathon] volunteers make a good race great. From the moment we arrived for parking, volunteers engaged us constantly in a positive manner. I’d never been repeatedly thanked for coming to and participating in a race. There were even volunteers walking through the event with huge “Have A Question? Ask Me!” signs. All the way to the end of the event, and no matter how hot it was (more on that later), the volunteers we encountered maintained positive attitudes.
Race day activities included a survivor breakfast (we didn’t make it) and a Zumba warm-up. We arrived just in time for the Zumba warm-up. That was pretty cool. There was more than one run scheduled for the morning; a competitive open 5K (co-ed), a women’s-only 5K, a recreational open 5K (men and women), a one mile fun fun and also a kids dash. I’d signed up for the competitive 5K, but decided on race day to do the recreational 5K so our crew could do it together. That was one of the unique things about the event, you could switch races and it wasn’t an issue. Most major races do not allow participants to switch runs on race day.
There were plenty of sponsors giving away free swag and of course, snacks. The post run snacks were plentiful with lots of variety. My favorite brand I tried for the first time that day was Outshine Fruit & Veggie popsicles. I love trying new foods and then re-creating them at home. Since Outshine is basically frozen fruit and vegetables with a little juice (or coconut water), I think this one will be pretty easy to do. Other than the popsicles, I decided to not rack up on the free swag. I already have more than enough bags, T shirts and knick knacks, plus I didn’t want to have to carry all that stuff throughout the day.
My recreational 5K finish time was a 13:11 average pace with a duration of 39:33. The splits were 12:14 for mile one, 12:30 mile two and 12:54 for mile three. It was extra hot that day—temps reached 90 degrees according to the weather app on my phone. The race route looped through the neighborhood around Meredith College. There were plenty of local residents who had sprinklers set up in their front yard or the sidewalks that runners could run under to cool down. There were some kids out there with super soakers too. Race volunteers at the finish line also handed out towels soaked in ice cold water.
Overall, the Raleigh Race for the Cure was a very positive event. After all of the runs were finished, there was a survivors recognition at the main event stage for those who were one year, five years, ten years, fifteen years, twenty years, twenty five years and thirty years post-diagnosis. Mel was in the one year survivors group, and it was at this moment that I got the most emotional. I am happy that my friend is healthy and happy right now. It felt good to see her walk to the stage to be honored. This was a moment of gratitude that my friend is still alive and there are moments like this day that we can share together. After the event, all of “Jermel’s Warriers” went to brunch and re-capped the day. We shared the pictures each of us had taken on our phones and iPad. Mel’s sister also had each of us write a special message in a scrap book of memories she’d put together over the past year since the diagnosis. Our team raised almost $700 dollars in support of the Raleigh Komen event.
Given my past reservations about Komen’s questionable marketing campaigns, will I participate in one of their future events? At this moment in time, I can’t say for 100% yes. I do appreciate the Race for the Cure event day activities and the opportunity to spend time with all of my friends in celebrating Mel’s survivorship of breast cancer. The overall lessons I learned from the day are to relish the little moments with your loved ones and to remember that prevention is a big part of fighting breast cancer.
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