Race walk in downtown Miami raises money to fight breast cancer
Pinned to Kimmie Briley’s back: a tag that read “This one is for my mommy.”
And with that, Briley — still sweating from her own race-walk — watched proudly as her 58-year-old mother crossed the finish line amid a sea of pink.
Pink to raise money for breast cancer awareness.
Pink because her mother survived breast cancer.
”It was horrible,” said Briley, 36. “She was throwing up all the time. She had really long hair and she lost all of her hair. She was really sick through the chemotherapy and radiation.”
Downtown Miami was awash in the signature color of the Susan G. Komen For the Cure foundation, which Saturday morning enlisted 15,000 participants like the Brileys to raise money to help fight the disease.
”I’m very, very proud to be here,” Linda Briley said, holding the pink rose given to breast cancer survivors who finish the 3.1-mile race.
More than 750 survivors took part in the 5K race-walk, marching in an opening ceremony just before 8 a.m. at Bayfront Park.
Though the final numbers haven’t been tallied yet, organizers believe at least 15,000 people registered. They hope to match last year’s total of donations: $1.2 million.
”Turnout has been amazing . . . we couldn’t ask for more,” said executive director Bobbi Meyers.
In a steady stream, they marched through downtown Miami, into the Brickell area and back to Bayfront Park.
KC and the Sunshine Band blared over a loudspeaker. Some wore pink visors, caps and Energizer foam bunny ears.
Toddlers raced — stumbled cutely, really — in a mini-race.
The homemade T-shirt slogans were as colorful: ”Save the TA-TAs!” and “Because we care for our pair.”
One family of eight held up a banner: “Bibi A True Survivor.”
”This feeling is indescribable — very emotional, very overwhelming,” said Bibi Cabrera, 52, who survived breast cancer that was detected early through a mammogram.
Down Biscayne Boulevard, Maria Salome Rodriguez held a water bottle, a medal given to survivors draped around her neck. She fought off cancer 13 years ago. At 85, she is a great-grandmother who walked a shorter version of the race.
”I want to help so others don’t have to go through it. I want to motivate others,” she said.
The original source of this article can be found at:
www.miamiherald.com / Sun, Oct. 19, 2008
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