race for the cure

I've had a great weekend. The race for the cure 5k was amazing. Seeing 30,000 people come together to raise money for cancer research is a very real reminder that cancer affects us all. We have all lost someone we loved to the horrible disease.

As for running - well the sheer numbers made it nearly impossible. I did finally get out of the crowds by leaving the street and running through people's yards. Running on uneven ground and leaping over manhole covers left my feet a little sore.

I think next race I will arrive earlier and try to line up closer to the front. That way I could avoid some of the smooshing. I have a scrape on my side from the iPod my neighbor was holding. It was that crowded.

My favorite part of the race was seeing the signs on people's backs that told who they were running to honor or celebrate. I saw moms with pink survivor tags running alongside daughters, husbands with surviving wives, and even large extended families walking together. The saddest moment was when I was jogging down a sidewalk and passed a man in his forties running and crying. On the back of his shirt was a picture of his wife he had lost.

I entered the race to prove that I could run. I wanted motivation to work out. But what I found was one of the most touching and beautiful moments in my life as I saw people united around a single cause. Now I am looking for another race to run. I never dreamed that Shawn and I would be comparing calendars to see when I could schedule racing. How crazy life is sometimes!