Day 165 ~ Three for the Road

June 14, 2014

My instead: I walked the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in St. Louis. 

Time to get up…5 o’clock came pretty quickly on a Saturday morning when I usually sleep in for an extra 15 minutes. But it was the day of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in St. Louis. I told my daughter Robin that I would be at her house by 6:00 to pick up her and her son Tyler. I arrived there at 6:02! 

Robin was ready to go and Tyler was in tow looking a bit, well, like he just woke up. We got to the Metro Link with our pre-purchased tickets ready to ride. There was no crowd to cramp us as we traversed the tracks to the big city. When we got off the train, it was quite a different story. We were like cattle corralled onto the sidewalk moving toward the event. What a spread! There were tents everywhere with people handing out a plethora of giveaways. The spirit was escalating as the crowds grew by the thousands! As the song goes….good, good, good good vibrations. 

The three of us gathered for a silly photo with plenty of props. I texted the pic to my friend Barb, who is battling breast cancer, along with her husband Tom and said “We’re here for you, Barb”. They were thrilled! 

As 8:45 creeped up on us, we herded towards the starting line and before we knew it, we were en route with over 30,000 participants walking the 5K race. Energy of the best kind abounded.  There were pockets of supporters or volunteers along the way playing music, clapping, handing out cups of water, or just watching in amazement as the mass of marchers passed by them. 

Two hours later we were crossing the finish line. Our legs and joints were feeling it, since we had been on our feet for over seven hours. It was time for us to leave this venue of volition. Robin and I enjoyed the experience for its positive and unrelenting energy. Tyler hung in there with us and never complained. There were some fun things for him along the way like a massive bubble machine and snow cones which helped him to wage onward. For 11-years-old, he was a real trouper.  

“Instead” of watching the event’s video on TV from the comfort of my couch this year, I chose to draw upon the spirit within me to join forces with these passionate people and pursue a dream to end breast cancer and the havoc it wreaks.