Persistence in pink
Komen race to fight breast cancer is family event for some
Participants in the 25th annual Susan G. Komen Arkansas Race for the Cure flood Sixth Street in downtown Little Rock with a sea of pink Saturday morning. More than 11,000 people took part in the event to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research.
A flood of pink Saturday washed down Broadway in Little Rock as more than 11,000 people participated in the 25th annual Susan G. Komen Arkansas Race for the Cure.
The runners in the annual breast cancer awareness event and fundraiser got up bright and early and donned various rosy shades for the 8 a.m. race.
Some people arrived with their dogs, others with their children, nieces and nephews. One man wore a gorilla suit topped with a bright pink wig. But when the race began, the various colors melded into a wall of women and men, many of them survivors of breast cancer.
Kenny Clark, director of this year’s race, said more than 10,000 people registered before the race and nearly 1,000 more registered Saturday. The count is down a bit from previous years, but Clark said that’s something being seen nationally.
According to the race’s website, the fundraiser has amassed $78,842 this year, though Clark said that number will definitely change once the calculations from Saturday’s race are complete, which could take a few days.
For Daria Marlow, the annual race has become a tradition. Marlow, celebrating her 28th year of remission, has joined family members in at least one breast cancer walk each year since 2004.
Marlow, who has lived in Little Rock since 1979, first
walked in the race in 2004 with her family in Little Rock. Every year since, her family has gathered in places like Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; Aspen, Colo., and a dozen other locations to make the 3.1-mile trek.
Along with her Saturday were her four sisters, daughter, niece and daughter-inlaw, she said. Some of her relatives traveled in from as far as Illinois.
“My family has so many women,” Marlow said. “There’s all these girls, and no one had breast cancer but me. That’s why mammograms are so important. This doesn’t have to be a thing that spans generations to affect you.”
The breast cancer walk has turned into a family holiday, she said.
“We have fun. That’s what we’ve turned this into: fun.”
One group of walkers — all wearing shirts bearing “Topp’s Solemates” on the chest — said they attended Saturday’s event not only to support Komen, but to raise awareness for their own breast cancer support services.
Raychelle Grant, who leads Topp’s breast health program, said the Pine Bluffbased nonprofit helps women in the area by providing transportation to treatment centers, and helps pay for mammograms and co-payments for people who can’t afford them.
Grant said this is the breast health program’s first year in Pine Bluff, but the small program is already making a difference.
“We want to educate girls and their parents,” Grant said. “It’s really important in our community.”