Cancer race raises $750,000
Published: August 15, 2005
Skies were gray Sunday morning, but pink was the prevailing color in downtown Kansas City as more than 18,000 people took part in the Race for the Cure.
Cancer survivors, friends and family members of survivors and the deceased took part in the event. The race drew 18,600 registered participants this year and raised its goal of $750,000, said Lynda McGlynn, a race co-chairwoman.
The race, which has both a competitive 5K run and a noncompetitive walk-or-run component, resulted in streets surrounding Union Station being blocked off for a few hours early Sunday.
Among those taking part were friends Kelly Finn and Dianne Reed, both of Overland Park. They were near the finish line and waiting for Reed’s mother, a breast cancer survivor, to catch up. Survivors were evident among the pack of walkers in their bright pink T-shirts.
Reed said her mother is now doing well.
“It was an early detection, thanks to a mammogram,” she said. “They were able to take care of it. This is really an important thing to help raise awareness, and I think it’s especially helpful for the survivors to see all the people out here in support.”
Both said they had been participating in the race for several years.
“As a woman, you’re more aware of the problem because you know people who survived it,” Finn said. “But it also seems like you see a lot more men out here than in the past.”
Reed and Finn said they planned to bring their daughters to the race next year, introducing another generation to the cause.
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s Race for the Cure, with races held around the world, has become the largest private fund-raiser for breast cancer research and awareness in the country.
A big group of people wearing purple “Run for Martha 2005” T-shirts were there in memory of Martha Barkofske, a Prairie Village preschool teacher who died of breast cancer. Mark Barkofske said it had been a year since his wife passed away.
“We decided to get everybody together for the race in her memory,” said Mike Krueger, the organizer of the group. “We sold about 90 T-shirts, and there are probably at least 50 people here who came to the race.”
Krueger said proceeds from the T-shirt sales will go to an educational fund for the family’s three children.
“This disease touches so many people’s lives, and this race contributes so much for research,” she said. “It’s a way to remember those who aren’t here any longer and honor the ones who have survived.”
In addition to the race, several exhibits and booths were located around Union Station in connection with the event. Among them was the AstraZeneca Visions of Hope exhibit, which gave visitors a chance to learn about breast self-exams, research advances, and detection and treatment options.
AstraZeneca, a London-based pharmaceutical company, also raised $5,000 for Sunday’s event by donating $1 every time somebody came by the exhibit and hit a pink punching bag, representing the fight against breast cancer.
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