Race for the Cure 2008

October 11th was a very special day for me and my family, and for every woman in Little Rock Arkansas! The event of the day-Race for the Cure. I have been participating in this event for a few years now, but it means more now to me than ever. 2 years ago this May my mom suffered the enormous burden of learning that she had developed breast cancer. I was shocked when I learned this had affected her, and couldnt believe she was joining the women of the world who have also faught this disease. Luckily her battle was fairly quick and she is currently cancer free! :) Mom, I am so proud of you and your strength. To say the least, your strength is inspiring. And I love you, and look forward to this walk every year to come.

I was so thankful that my mom headed down for the weekend and we could do the walk together. This is the second year we have done this and it makes it so much more realistic and meaningful when you are really walking for someone who is close to you and who has faught this terrible battle.

To start off, we get downtown, got great parking, and didnt have to walk far at all. The morning started off good, because we were so on time, which is usually hard at this event, because of the large number of people. Little Rock is in the top 10 of Race for the Cure cities. This year there were over 45,000 women who participated in the race. And then not to mention the men who walked in the 3 miles of men, and all those supporters who were out there that lined the streets!

Last year it was pretty cold early in the morning, but this year it was just a little chilly. Chilly enough for a cold nose though!


First stop, spit for the cure. Elem cheered memaw on while she filled out paper work and did a little spit test. The Spit for the cure is an effort for research to determine if you can tell when breast cancer is hereditary.


After the Spit, we were off to find the bandanas! Unfortunately, the massive thick wall of women ready to walk was already formed and we couldnt head directly across the street. So we paused for some brief dancing-


And snapshots. Early morning baby, was not too excited to get his picture taken just yet... Here we are. We love you memaw.


Here is me, my mom, and Elem. Like I said, he was ready to get down and play!


We finally saw the race begin and the thick line eventually came to a drizzle. There were so many people that we couldnt even find any of my friends or mother in law or anyone! It was a mad house. So we just stuck together and off we went. We grabbed some bandanas and headed towards North Little Rock. The walk is pretty slow, due to the large number of people, but since we were at the end, it wasnt too bad. There were plenty of people with pink shirts on-those who have had breast cancer, and then those with white shirts are simply supporters. Elem started off in the stroller, but after we crossed the bridge, -about 20 minutes into it, Elem wanted a free ride. So I got him out, and held him for a little while. Which turned into the rest of the time! Lets just say I got a great workout holding an extra 20 pounds all the way through the finish line. :)

We snuck him into his stroller, and this was the best family pic we could get. Sweet, sleepy baby.



We headed home, a wonderful day, beautiful sunshine, great company, and raced for a great cause. We figured since we didnt get as many pics as we wanted at the race, we would take what we could get.

Me and my mom. :) So brave, and so inspiring.


And Elem and his Memaw.


And that was the day. A day of great energy, spirit, and overall belief in a cure for such a terrible and affecting disease. To all the women who have faught, survived, or been affected by breast cancer, hopefully with the funding from these walks one day they will find a cure. I love you mom.