Health & Fitness
Fitness for a Cause: ‘Families Walk/Run for Hope’
Combining fitness with fundraising is a great way to do it all! Mather Hospital's 'famlies walk for hope' was the cause, and a walk/run combination is how I completed this 5 mile race.
At every year’s Mather Hospital’s “families walk for hope,” a fundraiser to honor and remember those affected by breast cancer, I always set a personal goal of running as much as I can of the 5 miles.
This year was no exception. Gazing around at the men, women, children and dogs dressed in pink, I became inspired and energized as I approached the starting line. The beauty of this walk is that I don’t put pressure on myself to achieve my personal best, since I know I’ll be splitting it up between walking and running. The only goal I have is to complete the race in a decent time, run as much as I walk and get my heart rate up.
I started out with a fast walk to warm up, and then started to run, enjoying the perfect running weather - mid 50’s, cloudy, with a hint of precipitation. One would think sunny and warm would be preferred, but ask any runner about the hot sun beating down on them, and you’ll hear the grumbling.
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The inspiration I got from the walkers, some wearing signs for loved ones who have passed or in honor of those who have beat breast cancer, motivated me to quicken my pace. The route passes through Belle Terre and is fairly flat, dotted with a hill here and there. I approached the circle of the lighthouse, the half way mark, and started on the long road back. I noticed a woman pushing a wheel chair, empty, with a sign in it stating “This is for you, Auntie.” That emotional sight made me think about all the stories here about why people were walking. I thought about my friends who had beaten breast cancer, those who were in the middle of the fight and remembered a friend who didn’t make it.
I started getting tired with about a mile to go, so I used my stopwatch to do a 2 minute run, followed by a 2 minute walk. And this is how I completed the race, using the sight of the huge pink ribbon at the finish line to pick up speed and run it in. It’s always a great feeling to finish a race and in this case, the exaltation was tempered with the feeling of a worthy accomplishment.
