See the image gallery below.
The only thing that would have made it a finer occasion on a more perfect day–bluish skies, crisp morning temperatures, the sort of communal warmth one feels around Christmas parades–would have been if Sunday morning’s Pink Army run through Palm Coast’s Town Center had been a victory run to celebrate the defeat of a cancer that takes the lives of 40,000 women a year.
That victory may be some years away yet. But there is a sense, and it is more than a hope, that the victory run is a matter of time. Meanwhile, those battling for the end of breast cancer continue to run to raise awareness, raise money and raise spirits for those battling today, as some 500 to 800 runners, walkers and cheerers did this morning in the fourth annual Pink Army Run chiefly organized by Florida Hospital Flagler and the city of Palm Coast.
The event began a little bit after dawn in what turned into a second dawn of pink shirts, pink tutus, pink bras (on a man in one case) and the pinked up hair of a few teenagers.
“I would like each of us to turn our heads and look around,” Dr. Karen Toppi, a gynecologist at the hospital, told the assembly moments before the race. “We see many different faces, all coming together for something much larger and greater than ourselves. These are the faces of those who have been touched by breast cancer. So why do we walk? We are here to walk for our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, our aunts and our significant others. And there are some that are also walking for themselves. We walk endlessly so that we can try to postpone that day when cancer becomes a part of our lives for the first time, a second or even third time. We are here for the women and men that are battling their fight today. We are here for those who have lost their battle and we are even here for those who don’t even know that their battle is yet to come.”
That same finish line waiting for its own eventual end.
“Although 3 million women are battling this disease,” Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts told everyone before the race, “mortalities in America have been declining. So while you’re lacing your shoes this morning, remember that the proceeds from Pink Army Run stay right here in our community, providing funds for mammograms and diagnostic services and assuring that our numbers contribute to this decline in cancer fatalities.”
He added: “As may of you know, my wife Priscilla has been fighting breast cancer and we’ve been facing her challenges to claim victory over her illness. Her resilience has taught me endurance and her courage has strengthened mine. Being here today is one more step on our journey toward healing.”
Priscilla Netts was at the mayor’s side.
“The response from the public is overwhelming, it’s absolutely beautiful–to see that the people who have had breast cancer, who might have it, or don’t ever have it, are here,” Priscilla Netts said. “I’m very fortunate. Everything went well, the treatments are finished, I’ve recovered, and it’s all good.”
Pink Army Run 2013: The Image Gallery
[nggallery id=105]
pamela says
My Mother and Sister Robin both recently died due to breast cancer. Had they had mastectomy’s they would both still be here. In my Mother’s case, they missed her left breast after years of cancer in her right breast. My sister’s husband is an ass who worshiped her boobs only to comment after she died and during her painful passing ” they shriveled up!”
PALMCOAST says
http://www.redpointerrunning.com/resources/Pink%20Army%205K%20Overall.htm
Bib 915 was Craig Henry he got 2nd overall.