Published: October 04, 2008 10:51 pm         

Friends, family, patients and survivors Race for a Cure

About 90 percent of participants in Race are part of a team

St. MARY-OF-THE-WOODS — Of the 2,554 people at Saturday’s 12th annual Wabash Valley Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, at least 50 of them were part of “Mary’s Rack Pack.”

Mary Harbaugh, 41, of Terre Haute was diagnosed with breast cancer in June and is undergoing treatment.

Donning brown T-shirts with a small pink ribbon in the top left corner on the front and “Mary’s Rack Pack” in big pink, block letters on the back, it was easy to see who was with Mary.

“It’s humbling and overwhelming to have all of this support,” said Mary, who was wearing a pink shirt with her name on the back in silver letters. This was Mary’s third or fourth time at the race, but first time as a breast cancer patient, she said.

“It’s a huge morale booster,” she said. “It’s just great to see so many people here.”

About 90 percent of the people who participate in the Race are in a team, said race registration chair Jessica Clevenger. The more than 2,500 people in attendance was more than last year, she said, but not the most they’ve ever had.

Rick and Kay Baldomero of West Terre Haute were part of Mary’s pack. Kay said she heard about it from Mary’s sister who is her friend.

“I think the emotional support is just outstanding,” Kay, 48, said about Mary’s pack. “It takes a whole community, family and friends to go through something like this.”

She said she’s been coming to the race for nine or 10 years, but this was her first time there for Mary.

Events such as this reaffirms to the cancer patients they’re not alone, Rick, 42, added.

That was the idea for Mary’s pack, said one of her best friends Tracie Taylor, 42, of Terre Haute, who helped organize the pack.

The group voted on the shirts through Mary’s blog, which she started to keep her friends and family updated on her condition, Taylor said. There were a lot of suggestions, she said.

Though some were not appropriate to put in the newspaper, Taylor said, another suggestion was “Save the Ta Tas,” but the majority decided “Mary’s Rack Pack” was the best.

Taylor said having so many people to support Mary has “really helped boost her spirits emotionally.”

“She has said the one good thing about having breast cancer is it made her realize all of the friends and family she has,” Taylor said.

New for the race this year was “Tinkle Me Pink” and “Kids for a Cure.”

Corporate sponsors paid an entry fee and decorated some of the outhouses at the race for “Tinkle Me Pink.” Managers from three area Krogers and a member of each branch of the military were the judges. Four outhouses were decorated.

Children who participated in “Kids for a Cure” led the survivors out to their Survivor Parade with cowbells and raced a short distance before a fun run/walk. Clevenger said the idea was to make the children feel more involved.

It was the third year for the “I AM THE CURE” program, another activity involving children, Clevenger said. For this program children learn various facts about breast cancer in a class and then walk the race informing others, she said.

There are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States with nearly 200,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer expected to occur among women in 2008, according to a race pamphlet.

Seventy-five percent of the money raised at the race will stay in the Wabash Valley to help serve the 11 counties in the Wabash Valley Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s service area. The other 25 percent of proceeds will go to the national Komen program to fund research, Clevenger said.

Final numbers for the amount raised on race day were not available, but $2,000 of donations were collected on top of registration fees. Of that, at least $1,400 was raised by “Mary’s Rack Pack” from people who couldn’t attend the race, but wanted to help, Taylor said.

One thing was sure, Mary’s pack did stand out.

“I’ve had a few people tell me I have a big rack,” Mary said, “and I said, ‘No, I just have a big pack.’”

Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.