Awareness

Race for the Cure Persists, Despite Delays

by Nate Schumann

On Saturday, Oct. 3, scores of Jacksonians will don their favorite pink garments and hit the sidewalks to run in the 21st annual Susan G. Komen Metro Jackson Race for the Cure fundraising event.

Each year, donors and those who register to run in the race help Susan G. Komen Memphis-MidSouth Mississippi amass funds that are used to finance breast-health services and research to find a cure for breast cancer.

Since the event’s inception in 1999, Race for the Cure has provided $3.6 million in direct grants to local health providers in the 59-county service area in Mississippi and $859,210 to breast-cancer research.

“Race for the Cure not only raises money in the fight to end breast cancer,” Catherine Young, senior vice president of Komen Memphis-MidSouth Mississippi, says in a Sept. 25 press release. “It celebrates our survivors, our co-survivors, honors those we have lost, and brings everyone together in the fight to end this disease.”

In past years, the Survivor Parades have been in person. This year, the Survivor Parade has adapted so that participants drive decorated cars.

Last year, the organization exceeded their financial goals for the event and subsequently supplied $100,000 in grants.

This year’s Race for the Cure had originally been slated for April 25, but the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the fundraiser for nearly six months. In compliance with health-safety standards, the event will largely be held virtually, with participants running and engaging in the pre-event activities remotely.

Organizers encourage participants to submit photos of themselves in their festive ensembles prior to the event through the Metro Jackson Race for the Cure group page on Facebook as part of a photo contest.

Race Day will kick off with a Survivor Car Parade, for which breast-cancer survivors are invited to decorate their cars. The parade line-up will take place at 8 a.m. at Smith Wills Stadium (1200 Lakeland Drive), and the parade will begin at 8:30 a.m. Participants are prohibited from exiting their vehicles.

“We are happy that we have found a way to safely acknowledge our survivors through the parade,” Young says.

In addition, the event honors Honorary Race Chair Barbara Craft and Survivor of the Year Donna Ladd, the editor-in-chief of the Jackson Free Press, who will both present speeches.

Runners may join or start a team or otherwise register as individuals. Registration is $25 for adults and $20 for youths ages 3 to 15.

For more information, call 601-932- 3999 or visit komenmemphisms.org.