2006 Phoenix Race For The Cure - What a Day!

My son and I completed the 2006 Phoenix Race for the Cure® Breast Cancer Walk that Susan G. Komen puts together every year. Every year, the Phoenix Race For The Cure® gets bigger and bigger. It never ceases to amaze us. The weather was gorgeous (a big part of the reason we now live in Arizona!). For the 2006 Phoenix Race For The Cure™, there were over 40,000 men, women and children, decked out in all colors (pink being the primary one of course), walking together for one reason…to support eradicating breast cancer.

Before The Race

Prior to the race getting started, we spent some time wandering through the vendor area. We see new sponsors every year, which lets us know that awareness about breast cancer is definitely increasing. We wandered from tent to tent, collecting information, talking with the vendors about what they do, what they contribute, and why they do it. They always have such great people manning their booths...friendly and well-versed in what they're promoting as well as why they're there. We also spent some time giving out 2 free greeting cards to anyone who wanted to send one out. We opened Greeting Cards for A Cure™ , our newest division (in cooperations with a fantastic company called SendOutCards), on October 1, 2006, just in time for Breast Cancer Awareness month and the 2006 Phoenix Race For The Cure™. It's such a fun part of what we do. It gives us a way to give back, simply by allowing others to send out greeting cards that make someone ELSE’S day special. And it gives us a chance to meet and talk with many of our fellow walkers at these types of events. We do what we've always done best...talk with strangers. We met some walkers that were walking just to support the cause and (thankfully) didn't know anyone personally who had been affected by breast cancer. And we spoke with many of the walkers who have been directly affected by it.

Getting Ready to Start

The 2006 Phoenix Race For The Cure™ was held in downtown Phoenix,
so once they were calling the walkers to the starting line, my son and I headed up to the third floor of a parking deck near the starting gate (which was a site in and of itself). From a higher view, we got a great view. It is SO cool to see such a “sea” of people dressed in white and pink, especially when it’s in the middle of the streets of downtown Phoenix! Channel 12 TV, one of the sponsors for the 2006 Phoenix Race For The Cure™, was there to cover the event, along with Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, who was there to wave to everyone as they began the walk.

The Phoenix Affiliate

The first Phoenix Race For The Cure® was held in 1993. There were 1,500 participants and $65,000 raised. The numbers aren’t in yet for the 2006 Phoenix Race For The Cure™, but in 2005 there were more than 41,0000 participants and enough money raised to grant over $1.6 million dollars in 2006 to research, education, screening and treatment programs. Up to 75% of the monies raised during the 2006 Phoenix Race For The Cure™ remains in Central and Northern Arizona to assist the medically uninsured and underserved. The remaining 25% goes directly to breast cancer research through the Komen Foundation Award and Research Grant Program.

I don’t know for sure how long it will be available, but Channel 12 News has some really inspiring videos and information available about the 2006 Phoenix Race For The Cure™ on their site. Be sure to check out their coverage of the 2006 race!

The Survivors aka The Victors

As with all the walks we participate in, we got a chance to speak with some of the Survivors. They ranged from having been just diagnosed to 10 years and more. Meeting long term survivors is always very encouraging to both me and my son. Not to mention all of the people aren’t survivors…those that are simply there to support the folks they care about, or sometimes just to support the cause in general (there are LOTS of folks we meet at the walks who don’t know anyone directly who’s been affected by breast cancer. Men, women, children, even dogs…all decked out in pink and looking great.

At all of the events we walk in, including the 2006 Phoenix Race For The Cure™, we gather information about the specifics of the disease from those who are fighting it every day (they typically know as much if not more than, their doctors). And while it doesn't always make sense, since we're certainly not doctors, it always gives us more to go home and research. It also instills the fact that what we're doing with this site, Greeting Cards for a Cure™, and our Why We Walk Yearbook™ project is very valuable. There are too many women we speak with who are not part of a support group and those who know someone that didn't get complete or correct information from their own doctors. This particular part of the breast cancer equation must be addressed!

What You Can Do

If you’ve never walked in breast cancer fundraising walk before, the Race For The Cure® is always a great place to start. If you have never experienced one, it’s time to sign up…the sense of accomplishment when you’re done will add value to ALL parts of your life! And, if you’re not able to walk for whatever reason, Komen now offers the Sleep In For The Cure® option!