Sunday, March 9, 2008

Michele's Melee

Last year Michele ran in a women's only 5K fun run with her sister and they had a blast together. They promised to run it together every year. One of the first thoughts Michele had after learning that she had breast cancer was that she wouldn't be able to join Robin to run the race again.

Now that we are starting the second phase of chemo, and learning more about what it will take to kick cancer's butt, I think that Michele needs to be in this race. Maybe she won't run the whole thing. Maybe she'll need some help and encouragement to cross the finish line. But, I believe, that she can do it and it will be a great experience and another step closer to normal for her.

I had the idea to reach out to the women in her life who have been so great during the last couple months. I hope that with some help from her friends this could be a day to remember for Michele.

So this is a call to action. I am asking all the women who know Michele and can run, walk, or crawl 3.1 miles to join her on May 18 in Ann Arbor for this great event. The men and/or those who can't or don't want to run/walk can come and cheer the rest on with me from the sidelines.

We're calling our little group "Michele's Melee". There is a list of women already signed up and a link to the current list on the right side of this page. Here are the ways to participate:

1. Sign up and run the 5K. Registration for the race is $24 and is easy to complete online. Run/walk with Michele or at your own pace.

2. We plan to make up pink t-shirts for the occasion and will ask participants to throw in some money to this end(maybe $20? details to follow). Racers and watchers are all welcome to get T's, just let me know.

3. In addition, we are going to collect additional funds to donate to a local breast cancer charity and/or a local woman fighting BC to pass along and spread out the amazing support that we have been so lucky to get from Michele's friends and family. This is not a fund for Michele... all moneys above and beyond the cost of the shirts is going to go to whatever charity we find worthy (any suggestions?).

Nobody should feel pressured or obligated to participate. I expect this to be a fun event for everyone and a good excuse to get some exercise. If you are interested, please email me so that I can add you to the list.

We're going to run circles around cancer... Rock 'n roll.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is a great idea! Unfortunately I am coming to Michigan the NEXT weekend instead of that one. :( But I will try to recruit others.