Pink fur, pink wigs, pink boas and pink hats fill the Denver streets en masse.
It can only mean one thing: the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is here. As one of the country’s largest Race for the Cure, 60,000-plus Denverites come together for this event to show their commitment to eradicating breast cancer as a life-threatening disease.
As the daughter of a breast cancer survivor and the granddaughter of a woman who put up a valiant fight for four years, this is a no-miss event for me. I pull on pink sweats, slip into my pink tank and douse my braids with hot-pink hairspray. On those
cooler mornings, I might don a saucy pink wig for a little extra warmth. And, along with just about everyone else, I pin a list to my back honoring those for whom I’m walking.
The walk to the event is not a lonely one. People fill the streets on that Sunday morning, coming from all directions, gathering in the registration area of the Pepsi Center parking lot. This isn’t just an event for women. Sons, fathers, husbands and other men join the festivities, gussied up in as much pink as the women at times.
While the co-ed 5k run/walk is the most well-known event on this day, it’s not the only option. There is also a 5k co-ed run as well as a 1k family walk. For those who can’t make it downtown but still want to add support, options to “sleep in for the cure” are also available online.
This year’s goal is to raise more than $1.8 million. With one in eight women being stricken with breast cancer in her lifetime, the Komen organization puts the money raised from this event toward “funding education, screening, and treatment programs for these women and thousands of others in our own community and supports the national search for a cure.”
The race isn’t just about running and walking, though. Numerous tents are set up at the end of the route featuring handouts from sponsors, drawings, information and games. Music floats through the air from various mobile stages.
A survivors’ ceremony is held as the morning nears end, and hundreds of women, often identified by their hot-pink ball caps, gather together to celebrate and be celebrated by teary onlookers.
If You Go
This year’s race is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 3.
For more information, go to www.komen.org.
Sheri L. Thompson is senior editor of GoWorldTravel.com.
From the Editors: We spent a heap of time making sure this story was accurate when it was published, but of course, things can change. Please confirm the details before setting out in our great Centennial State.