Race Day! - Diva Dash

9/22/11 – Blogging on…

We woke up early Saturday because Saturday was the race day.  It was the “everything” day it seemed.  We had a ton crammed into one day so we had to hit the ground running. 

I had gotten a special outfit for the race that I felt cute and comfortable in.  It was decked out in blue but wasn’t overly matchy.  Erin and mom flew into town and since I am not much of a morning person I drove a little slower behind them.  We arrived at the race site and immediately set to work.  Mom and I placed race and parking signs while Erin organized everyone and set up registration. Mark was there as our MC and once the sound equipment was set up he started going over his list of topics and presentations.  Mark’s mom even drove all the way from Birmingham to help out.  The inflatable colon from the Birmingham Rumpshaker showed up and Dr. Tidwell from the cancer center came along with lots of information on screenings and colon cancer prevention. 

When mom and I returned from placing signs we were happy to see lots of runners signing in with registration and the police starting to organize their road block after a brief misunderstanding.  I saw lots of people that I hadn’t seen in years and got a ton of good hugs in.  The mayor greeted everyone and then I said a quick hello and thank you over the sound system before the start of the race.  Phillip and Tara showed up along with Todd (who had to work that weekend and decided to surprise everyone) right before the race started.  The runners were all set up and the Central High School dance team was on either side of the runners to cheer them on as I announced “On your mark, get set, (toilet flush sound), GO GO GO!” 

Since I was walking I started 5 minutes after the other runners.  Mom and Tara both decided to walk with me.  Mark announced when the walkers could start and we walked along with many others to the cheers of the dance team.  It was a lot of fun.  There were awesome people encouraging and pushing us on at each turn of the race.  We jogged a little but I had hurt my knee preparing for the race so I was limited on my amount of jogging and there were a lot of hills in the course.  We just kept walking and talking.  We had a blast.  At the end Tara and I determined to finish strong and ran the last part of the course.  We had a photo finish. 

After the runners and walkers there was a kids and seniors fun run.  My Granny and Mrs. Janet both rocked it out and walked all the way around the lake. 

The dance team performed a routine, people could go and look at the inflatable colon and learn more about colon cancer, and there was a jump rope team that was really cool too.  I was scheduled to speak one more time so I just simply told my story about how I found out I had colon cancer and explained to people why it is important to take care of yourself and realize that just because you’re young doesn’t mean it can’t happen to you.  At the end of the day I was worn out and felt like it had been a great event.  Todd had to go back home and I needed to rest and get ready for that night. 

The race was awesome.  It was a great event that raised money for a good cause and the local community.  I got to share my story and see a lot of people that I have missed over the years.  A huge thank you to all the volunteers and everyone who showed up for the race!  Good times….