After speaking with my girlfriend, Lindsay, she mentioned that we may want to join them for the Revlon 5K in Manhattan because it was coincidentally the same weekend that we were planning on going into the city to visit my sister, Colleen. The race is a run/walk, however, participants who will be pushing strollers are asked to walk the race as not to run into other people at 5 MPH. Ouch.
We all got our little bums out of bed at the crack of 6:45 to get out the door and on the train in time for the start of the race. Jack was anything but happy about the early wakeup, but I assured him that it was to end women’s cancers and he was all “Oh then that’s cool.” Such an easy-going toddler.
For anyone who has ever stood smack dab in the middle of Times Square, you know that it is chaotic, busy, packed with people and noisy. Well, add almost 25,000 runners and walkers for a race, celebrity onlookers (Jimmy Fallon, Jessica Alba, Dr. Oz, and Nate Berkus anyone?) and it is a freaking mess. We stood up against one the two TGIFridays windows as we were being smushed by people walking by and group teams who decided to park it and wait for their teams on the sidewalk. Umm…no dice.
We met up with two of our other friends who were running in the race, but unfortunately, we could not meet with our friends Lindsay, Mark and baby Greg who we planned on walking with before the race began. Thanks to cell phones and creative barrier hopping with a stroller, we met them at the start and were on our way! Granted, we started the race late, so we didn’t hit the 1 mile marker until around 35 minutes, but we were also trying to keep up with the crowd and the thousands of walkers around us.
The 5K this year was a bit shorter than previous years due to construction in the park and other chaos. Which is just as well because Jack was finished with riding in the stroller.
After a few pit stops for diaper changes in central park, photos of the group and helping Lindsay get situated to nurse baby Greg in the Ergo while doing a 5K while giving directions and while talking on the phone (multitasking at its best!), we were thrilled to cross the finish line with a sense of accomplishment.
We as a family participated in support of my Mom who is still battling Stage 4 Cervical Cancer, and even Jack’s stroller got its own special sign.
It was a beautiful day of camaraderie and people coming together to end such a horrible disease. Hopefully the money raised will help to eradicate all women’s cancers so that no other women will have to endure awful chemotherapy, radiation, mastectomies, and deaths from any of these diseases. No other families will ever be changed for the worst with having to grow up without a mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, cousin or friend.
We just did our part to say that we won’t stand for this and that we have the Womentum to fight until all women’s cancers are no more.
Additionally…can I just say that it was awesome to turn around in Central Park steps away from the Finish line and see Jimmy Fallon walking with us?!