And the Winner Is …

We survived the grueling Susan Komen Race for the Cure. We got up early, put on our game faces, covered up our team t-shirts with 12 additional layers of clothing and headed to the race shortly after 6 am Saturday morning. The temperature was a frigid 37 and only the fiercest competitors would brave these conditions. When we arrived at the race, we were greeted with the other enthusiastic Welsh Warriors with their winter clothes and pink bunny ears. Our first task was a team photo but I’m fairly certain no one was recognizable under all the layers of clothing! Now in most races you cool down after the race but we had our cool down before with about an hour of free time between the team photo and the beginning of the race. So we “chilled out” and picked up some free loot. Metisha visited the survivor’s tent and was interviewed by a TV crew from the Komen foundation. We could feel the anticipation of the race building as the competitors began to line up. Soon we heard the gun fire and the race started. The starting pace was so fast that at one point I almost passed a snail on the side walk! But the race quickly spread out and the pace picked up to a nice walk. It was an amazing site to see over 17,000 people consuming entire city blocks. At one point, we were two blocks away from a left hand turn and when I looked two blocks down to my left, I could see other competitors who had already made the turn. We were a heard on the move! It took us about an hour to finish the race and we never broke a sweat! When Metisha crossed the finish line her team was there cheering her on as it started to snow. Yes, snow. It was a beautiful snow and definitely created a memory we will never forget!
Of course the day included a lot of laughter: · A friend called Tish to ask her where the team was meeting. Metisha told him, “Just look for me, I’m wearing a pink cap.” Yeah, because she was the only one in a pink cap that day! · One team’s t-shirt said “Support the Boobs”. · There were pink tags you could wear during the race to show who you were supporting. Metisha picked one up and filled it with names of family and friends who have survived breast cancer. After her tag was prominently displayed on her back, I noticed it said, “In Memory Of Me”. She had picked up the “In Memory Of” tag instead of the “In Celebration Of” tag and put “Me” at the top of her list!
So who won the race? Mom raised the most money but all together the Welsh Warriors raised $4,170 and had a great race! Thanks so much Dana for organizing the team and thank you to everyone who supported us in the walk!