Susan G Komen Race For the Cure

My home family and work family has taken part for 6 years. The community presence is fantastic. There is so much support for our survivors. It is also an amazing time to give tribute and help fund Breast cancer research.

Pinkwashing concerns about the Komen Foundation aside, Race for the Cure is a great annual community event and 2015 is the 20^th year it’s been held here in Vegas.
PROS:
+ Race day packets (number bib, shirts, timing chip) mailed out prior to the race, no need to show up early or plan a separate trip downtown.
+ Easy $ 5 add-​on charge for timing chip option. All runs should have this available.
+ Separate sides of the street for runners and walkers!
+ I love the flat course through downtown. There were several cheer leading, water, first aid, and music stations along the way.
+ Free parking garages and park-​and-​ride options to avoid congesting downtown.
CONS:
— No safety pins included with bibs? A lot of people showed up with one large pin holding their bib on. I guess most people don’t have safety pins lying around the house these days.
— Water stations were handing out full size water bottles. In theory, this is generous, but no one was drinking entire bottles and the route was littered with trashed bottles that were still mostly full.
— Considering this is breast cancer awareness and fundraising event, I was surprised not to see much information about breast exams, causes, preventative measures, new research, or anything really beyond the color pink plastered all over everything.
Would I participate again? Yeah. The mood was infectiously positive and it’s a great event. I just wish more educational aspects were worked in.

Great event for a great cause! They had a lot vendors, good information, location was perfect!

This is my second year running (well walking) in this race and I have to say both times were great. I agree with Elnino and Kayla, it truly is inspiring to be surrounded my survivors and people that come out to support the cause. Each time before the race starts they talk about how hopefully next year there won’t be a need for a race… Someday.
Last year the weather was a bit cooler but I didn’t mind at first, since a large portion of the race is on nice, shaded streets. It’ not till the last mile that there is no shade and you start to grow tired. Nonetheless the people cheering you on helps a lot and you finish feeling good.
My only issue is that the festivities don’t last longer. Last year we headed home immediately because we didn’t have our wallets on us. This year after the race I was really cranky and wanted to eat before ewe walked down Freemont so we decided to go to Eat, which thankfully wasn’t as full as you’d expect (although in retrospect, I know now why). After breakfast we headed towards Freemont but all the booths and people were gone, by 11; 30 a.m. Even if the vendors had left, you would think the racers would have stuck around to party. I think next year we will walk around BEFORE The race and then have a leisurely breakfast.
All in all, I love these races and would like to participate more in the future!

I’ve done races for several different charities in the past, this was the first event I’ve been to that actually teared me up. There were so many survivors present, wearing hot pink shirts that said «I’m happy to inspire you». When they all marched through the street I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by their courage and strength. There were so so many others with T-​shirts in honor of their lost, and having lost my mother to Cancer, I feel for others who have suffered from or lost a loved one; it was a very emotional event.
The event took place on Fremont Street, where sponsors had tables set up with all sorts of freebies — hot pink shoelaces, stickers, sunglasses, sweat bands, back packs, T-​shirts, and cool trucker hats. I loved seeing so much support from other businesses, and no one seemed to be asking for money, other than New Balance who asked for a ‘donation’.
There were thousands of people there, and although you received a free T-​shirt with your registration, the good majority of people had created their own T-​shirts with their team name or the names of those fighting or passed on. The creativity of everyone was truly awesome!
They had a 5k race with one start time for runners, another for walkers and they also had a 1 mile walk option. They even had a kids walk, games and activities for the little ones, so darling! We loved that they lined up the runners separate from the walkers because then we weren’t all tripping over each other. They had tons of staff directing traffic, plenty of porta potties, and several water stations. Whether you walked or ran, you felt loved and inspired by everyone around you. I’d really love to do this race again next year.

Great race today, well organized. I like the way they separated the runners from the walkers on two different sides of the road. Many races are a mess because they have one starting line and the walkers line up early to get up front and are in the way. So very helpful not to have a bunch of people standing around talking when I’m trying to get started.
Lots of fun free stuff they were giving out everywhere, even some cool hats. Most of the free stuff like shirts and hats you would never where again, but these hats I will probably get some use out of. Plus of course the whole event was for a great cause.