Some racers were intense. Others were in tents.

On the field surrounding Manley Field House, vendors doled out warm drinks while charity groups sold bright pink breast cancer awareness shirts. Some runners laced up their sneakers with looks of determination etched on their faces. Others huddled up, chatting idly before the races began.

Despite the chilly Sunday morning, flocks of runners, walkers and supporters arrived at Manley for the first annual ‘A Run for Their Life,’ sponsored by the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund. All proceeds went directly to the State University of New York Upstate Medical University.

‘Carol Baldwin found out she had breast cancer and did everything she could to fight it and eventually started a research fund,’ said Tina Evans, office manager of the Regional Oncology Center at Upstate Medical University.’ That’s one of the reasons we’re doing the run, because it’s her goal, and all of ours, to find a cure for the disease.’

Evans participated in the event with several other team members from the Upstate Medical University. The team boasted the largest numbers in the competition, with more than 200 members.

Just before 9:25 a.m., the official start time for the race, a crowd of nearly 1,000 took its place at the starting line. The participants jittered with nervous energy. Each wore a number for timing and some wore tags on their backs, each inscribed with a specific name of someone they were running or walking for, or just simply ‘Mommy’ or ‘Grandma.’ These subtle reminders kept the cause for the run in focus.

Zoe Mintz, a graduate magazine, newspaper and online journalism major, walked the event with one person in mind.

‘I did the walk for my mom,’ she said.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2009, Mintz’s mother has been in remission for a year. The initial news about the diagnosis shocked her family, and Mintz quickly became actively involved in her native Quebec’s local breast cancer awareness groups.

‘It doesn’t just affect the person who has it,’ Mintz said. ‘It’s an epidemic. It affects the whole family, friends and just about everyone.’

Once the air horn blared to signify the start of the race, the mob on the Manley parking lot became a stampede of feet. As the runners sprinted and the walkers ambled down Comstock Avenue, onlookers cheered them on, ringing cowbells and shouting encouragement.

Even though Katie Hart, a biology major, didn’t have a specific person to run in memory of, she braved the cold to compete and run for the cause.

‘I was surprised that this many people came out and that so many people were so personally affected,’ Hart said. ‘I decided to come out for the walk just because it would be fun, and it was a good cause.’

Mintz was also pleased with the size and reactions of the crowd that showed up to support ‘A Race for Their Life.’

‘It was great to see a lot of guys come out to the run, too,’ Mintz said, ‘And it’s even better that everyone was enthusiastic about it. With this cause, there was no shame for a bunch of guys wearing pink.’

As the LED clock situated near the finish line ticked down the seconds passing by, the sun peeked up behind the cascade of clouds, and blue sky cracked through the dreary façade. By the time the straggling runners darted toward the end, sunlight flooded Manley and the parking lot.

An enormous archway made entirely of pink and white balloons marked the finish line. As runners scampered underneath, supporters standing off to the side clattered cowbells and let out raucous roars of cheers.

The top three men’s and women’s finishers in each race and first place finishers in each age and gender group received awards. Awards were also handed out to the runner who donated the most funds to the organization, to the team with the most participants and to the team that raised the most funds.

Mintz, who participated with a group of friends, finished the event in about an hour.

‘It was great being able to walk with a group of friends that I could share my experiences with even though they never experienced a family member having cancer firsthand,’ Mintz said. ‘It means a lot when people come out to walk and support each other instead of laying in bed on a Sunday morning.’

Mintz called her mom to let her know that she was taking part in ‘A Run for Their Life’ and thinking of her every step of the way.

‘Even though she’s all the way in Quebec, I felt so connected with my mom when I told her about the walk,’ Mintz said. ‘It was a good feeling.’

ervanrhe@syr.edu

Published on October 22, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Erik: ervanrhe@syr.edu | @therealvandyman