Race for the Cure Race Report

Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer among women, and one of the leading causes of cancer death. This morning, I joined 22,000 other runners and walkers who came together to fight this dreaded disease at the Susan G. Komen Triangle Race for the Cure.

The Triangle Race for the Cure is one in a series of road races held in cities around the country in an effort to raise awareness and funds to treat, prevent and eventually cure breast cancer. The event features a co-ed competive 5K, a women's and co-ed recreational run/walk, and a co-ed one-mile fun run/walk. Plus, there's a special recognition and processions for breast cancer survivors.

I used this morning's run as a way to support the fight against breast cancer and also to get in a recovery run as part of my post-marathon training from last Saturday's Sunburst Marathon in South Bend, Ind. Today's course started and finished at Meredith College, traveled along Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, back through an adjoining neighborhood, before coming back onto Hillsborough for the finish at Meredith.

The day started in anticipation of the large crowd. I was supposed to meet up with Sandra Rhyne -- an administrator at Meredith who was bringing some fellow runners I hoped to connect with before the start -- at the flagpole in front of Johnson Hall at 6 a.m. Sandra, who was participating in the walk at 9, was going to work while the competitive division got under way at 7:15. So I could meet her at 6. At least that's what she told me in an email on Friday.

So after picking up my timing chip just before 6, I made my way to Johnson Hall and sat down on a bench beside the flag pole and in front of a broken fountain that I learned later is going to take $1 million bucks to repair. I kept my eyes peeled for Sandra but didn't see her. 6:15, still no Sandra. 6:30, still no Sandra. 6:45, still no Sandra. So I stretched a bit and wandered down to the starting line around 7 a.m.

I wanted to hook up with my newfound running pals Brad Broyles and Steve Worley (who Sandra was supposed to bring with her to the flagpole at Johnson Hall) prior to the race, but no Sandra meant no Brad and Steve, so I hoped I would meet up with them on the course. I didn't see them at the start amidst the throngs of runners.

Since I was using this race as a recovery run, I started toward the back of the pack to avoid the tempation to run too fast. When the run started, I focused on keeping a steady pace, still hoping I'd see Brad or Steve. About a half mile or so into the race, I found Brad, pulled up alongside him, and ran with him for a bit. Brad said Steve was up ahead, and I told him I was going to see if I could find him.

I caught up with Steve about a half mile later around the one-mile marker. He was running at a good pace, but said he was concerned about his hamstrings since his overzealous personal trainer administered a hard leg workout on Tuesday. I settled in and ran with Steve, whose hamstring started feeling better further into the run.

In the neighborhoods we were greeted by the choir at Forest Hills Baptist Church and several spectators offering makeshift cooling stations with water hoses, water guns and lawn sprinklers. The squirts from the Super Soakers and streams from the sprinklers felt good on this hot, summer morning.

We crossed the two mile marker at the 16:10 mark, and when we merged back onto Hillsborough Street just before the three mile-mark a young girl yelled, "You are all winners, not losers!" That was all the encouragement I needed for the final stretch run.

At Steve's urging, we pushed to the finish, crossing the finish with an unoffial time of 25:32 by my watch (although the clock time displayed a bizarre reading of 26:74). We made our way through the finish area, turned in our chips, guzzled some water and picked up a goodie bag. We walked on to the flagpole at Johnson Hall, and lo and behold there was Sandra, to greet me after the race instead of before. An hour and 45 minutes late isn't too bad.

Brad joined us after he finished shortly thereafter. Kudos to Brad, who wrapped up a personal challenge of running "16 races in 16 weeks" today in the Race for the Cure. I asked him on the course what was next for him, and he replied, "Rest!"

I tried to convince Brad to make it 17 races in 17 weeks next week, since I had discovered a local 5K scheduled for next Saturday morning. He declined, saying 16 was a nice, even number. Brad's effort has inspired me to attempt a similar feat. Today was my third race in as many weeks, so another next week would make four in a row. I don't think I can match Brad's mark, but I'm going to see if I can keep the streak alive at least one more week and maybe more. Stay tuned.