Each year around the first of May, I could hear music and announcers from the “Avera Race for a Cure” event but never really knew much about this event. I live in a neighborhood which is about a mile from the Avera Wellness Center and once a year, on a Saturday in May, I would listen to the preparation announcements, music and tributes to those who were participating in this activity; but since I didn’t live on the route, I had no idea as to the large numbers of people who ran or walked in this event.
This year, I began to walk on Bahnson Avenue heading south toward 41st Street. There were a few people who lined the street waiting for the racers to pass, but I wondered if I had missed the race since only two or three runners were actually on the street. The intersection of Bahnson an d 41st Street had been blocked off, but as I began to turn right onto 41st to the Avera Wellness Center, one of the volunteers advised me to walk on the other side of 41st since “the runners are coming.” The front runners looked like they had obviously participated in other marathon events, but as I watched the runners that followed, I was amazed at the diversity of this group.
As I experimented with my camera aperture, the runners kept coming over the hill from the Avera Wellness Center. Seeing the multitudes of pink tutus and the runner’s expressions of camaraderie reminded me that this event is not about the race itself but coming together as a community.
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