The Race for the Cure

Yesterday was the Race for the Cure in my city. In case you are not up on what this is, it is a fundraiser for breast cancer that takes place in many larger cities on different dates in the spring. This has always been a big deal in this city, but in the past few years it has taken on a life of its own in Columbus, OH. Even if you did not attend the race yesterday, it is still customary for many people to where pink.

My son’s school, Hamilton Township High School, raises a lot of money for this function. When I walked yesterday morning I saw 2 high school girls leave for school dressed in the style of the 1950s. They were wearing pink T-shirts, black skirts and pink bobby socks. They had pony tails on the top of their head tied with large pink ribbons. That high school donates a lot of money to that event and they win the competition every year. It is the largest event for giving back to the community.

The part of this event that has really escalated its popularity in this town was the death of a well known news anchor, Heather Pick, who lost her life to breast cancer at less than 40 years of age. On her last television appearance she was wearing a pink wig. The year following her death, Heather’s Team was started. For a fee, you could join the team and you get a T-shirt and a pink wig. In the weeks leading up to the race, one of the well known Salon’s in town will cut and style your pink wig for free.

People wear these wigs to work in the weeks leading up to the race. One of the most memorable incidents was a landscaping company’s employees wearing their pink wigs while they were mowing and manicuring yards. These wigs can be seen all over town.

In the past year, Heather Pick, was joined by Stephanie Spielman. She was the wife of football player Chris Spielman. Together over the eleven years that Stepanie battled cancer, Stephanie and Chris raised more than 7 million dollars for cancer research. I believe most of it was donated to James Cancer Center, a cancer facility located on the campus of the Ohio State University. Stephanie lost her battle with breast cancer in the past year. This year the pink wigs were worn by Heather and Stepanie’s Team. The Race for the Cure was run by more than 50,000 people in the city of Columbus and many of these people are survivors.