Voices of the Race

In Celebration | In Memory | Share Your Story | Voices of the Race

Survivor and Platinum Club member, Barb Roller, provided inspiration to a local dance group to perform a dance in dedication of all survivors, danced the Melissa Etheridge song "I Run for Life." Click here to view the performance.

Video Interviews

Governor Granholm 2005 Welcome Video

Breast Cancer Fight Felt at WSU

From a Survivor:  Sherrie

My name is Sherrie Antoszewski and I am a breast cancer survivor. I’ve been battling the disease for almost 8 years, just finishing up treatment for my fourth occurrence. To make things even more complex, I also share this disease with my twin sister, Dawn, who is currently undergoing treatment and is fighting for her life. Thankfully, for the new research being done, we are still alive.

My first Komen Detroit Race for the Cure® was in April 1998 at the Detroit Zoo, when I walked with my Dad, Mom and then fiancé. I was just diagnosed 12 days earlier. There I was, a scared 25 year-old, wearing a pink shirt and pink hat. I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb because I was so young. But there I was in the crowd with all these people walking for a cure and for the other women dressed like me. I remember crossing that finish line and shedding some tears, but I also remember saying “I did it”. The atmosphere and the people around me gave me a place to feel safe and comfortable – kind of like home. I didn’t feel scared anymore, in fact, I felt empowered.

It’s funny that almost 8 years later, I stand here before you today getting ready to participate in my 9th Race or shall I say as far as I’m concerned - WALK. Today, I share the race with my daughter, family, friends, and since two years ago, many co-workers. I have become involved with the planning committee (this is my third year) and have met some wonderful people who have truly changed my life and make me want to be all that I can be. I’m not that scared 25 year-old anymore, but a 33 year-old woman proud to be part of an event that is like home to me. The race brings comfort for survivors, peace to loved ones and hope to our community. Besides, you tell me – what other event out there, brings 30,000 people to metro Detroit with only two people on the payroll? Over 1,000 volunteers are there to make sure this event goes off without a hitch. This statistic alone must tell you that the race and the cause are very special.

I am alive today because of the very research being done with funds raised from walks like this across the country. A lot of this research is being done locally, here in Detroit and at the Karmanos Cancer Institute.

Thank you to all of you, sponsors and race neighbors, who have helped make the Detroit Race what it is today. To those of you thinking about getting on board, this event is about community, friendship, compassion and love for the women and men battling a terrible disease.

Be part of it and know you ARE making a difference. I’m a 33 year-old wife, and mother of a six-year old little girl. Join the other race sponsors, runners, walkers, route neighbors and volunteers and help me and others like me see their children grow up.

WE NEED ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT.
 

From a Survivor:  Elree

Good evening. I’m Elree Watkins, a 13-year breast cancer survivor. My grandmother was diagnosed at 90 years old, lived to be 103, and it was not breast cancer that took her life. My mother was diagnosed in 2003 at the age of 80, and she is doing just great.

I have a daughter and three sisters that live with the fear of being diagnosed.

Breast cancer is an equal opportunity disease. It is color blind, and will not ask how much money you make or the size house you live in.

I have a dream that one day we will not have to worry about our daughters, mothers, sisters and grandmothers. With your help and support, we can win this war against breast cancer.

Thank you.
 

From a Sponsor:  Pam

The best way to convince a sponsor to be a sponsor is to tell you about my first experience sponsoring the Race.

Our son Bob and his children had been volunteers for several years; however my first race was the year 2002. This was Mo Meldrum's first year organizing this wonderful event. As a member of the "Mo Meldrum's Buddies and Pals Club" our daughter Missy and I were sitting in Mo's office exploring what we could do to help. Missy had an idea, "I know! Let’s paint the town pink with pink ribbons." Mo looked at Missy in that way she looks and said hesitantly, “Okay, but we don't have any money or anyone to help to offer you for this project.” That did not discourage Missy and her pink ribbon idea took on a life of its own.

The morning of my first race I got to Comerica Park at 4:30 a.m. The wind was blowing and it was raining and snowing – our Race was still in April then. I set up our tent and was looking desperately for some coffee. As daylight was breaking, I could see that Missy and her night crew had pink ribbons on everything as far as my eye could see. Even the Tiger was sporting pink ribbons. We waited at our tent patiently for the Race to end. I looked and saw 25,000 women, men and children coming our way. They were teams and individual racers. The racers were dressed in all manner of costume. Hats, t-shirts, signs, strollers, wheelchairs, wagons. It was a glorious sight. There were women celebrating their own lives of survival and those who remembered those lives that were lost to breast cancer. The angels were flying so close that you could hear the flutter of their wings. I carry the magic of that day in my heart today.

This year the Pink Ribbons will be over 10,000 strong. Unbelievably, a team of volunteers took the ribbons down last year and those will be in scrapbooks for everyone to see. Make sure you get your ribbons dedicated at Expo.

Sponsors, I am asking you to give and give and give some more. You will be rewarded over and over again. Please make the 2006 event the most successful Susan G. Komen Detroit Race for the Cure® ever.

I want you to think of the most special and beautiful women in your life. And now I want you to think of your life without them.
 

Sweet sounds for a good cause. . .

Over seventeen bands and performers will be stationed along the race route to provide entertainment for the crowd and encouragement for the participants.

Projekt Gift is back for a third year to lay down a mix of funk, hip-hop and reggae beats.  Top Dead Center will serve up a helping of high-energy classic rock.  The Power of Praise Community Choir returns for a second year with their soaring gospel harmonies. Other performers include the world-renowned Ford Motor Company Chorus, bagpiper David Kohler, The 1st Colonial Fife and Drum Corps, longtime Komen Detroit Race for the Cure® supporters The Prestige Duo, The Good Stuff, The Gilda’s Club Chorus, Karmanos Center Institute Drumming Corps, The Harper Woods High School Jazz Band, Western International High School jazz band, marching bands from Cass Tech and Spain Middle Schools. New this year is Havilland, Madison Greene, Blues legend Luther Bad Man Keith, Karen Missavage on her tuba and the Parcells Middle School band.

From a recent Post-Race Survey:

 “I liked the variety of performers encouraging the participants.”

”The entertainment along the way was great! Very motivating!”

“I liked the community feeling--so many participants and sponsors. Also, loved the bands, music, and singers on the route...very encouraging.“

Thank you to all of our performers, and to Michael Meldrum, Music Chair.

All ages, colors and backgrounds, one goal: outrun cancer's shadow

By Marney Rich Keenan / The Detroit News / June 9, 2004

Overshadowed by the weekend’s Pistons game and Ronald Reagan’s passing, another huge event happened this weekend, an awesome gathering that uplifted hearts and formed a camaraderie of hope. It was the 13th annual Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Detroit Race for the Cure, and it brought out a record-breaking crowd of more than 30,000. And that’s just the participants who ran the 5K or did the one mile fun walk down Woodward Avenue. The numbers of runners and walkers were up 20 percent from last year; the number of teams swelled from 192 last year to more than 350 this year, and the survivors grew from 1,200 to 1,500.

I ran the 5K with my daughter, three of my brothers and a nephew, never expecting to be close to tears one moment and cheering on a stranger the next: “You go, girl, you go!” But that’s exactly what happened to all of us. After passing one senior running in memory of his wife whose picture was safety-pinned to the back of his T-shirt, the silver curls bobbing, a sweet smile, and below it: “1930-2001,” my daughter looked at me and said one word: “Goose bumps.”

And on it went for three miles in a sea of thousands in rhythmic stride, as close together as a school of fish and as diverse as can be. The crowd reflected the recent extensive outreach efforts to minority groups by the foundation, Karmanos Cancer Institute, and corporate sponsors, says Maureen Meldrum, race chair. “The true heart of Detroit knows no color boundaries,” says Meldrum. “And that’s consistent with cancer — every woman is at risk, especially as they age.”

The stats are: 40,000 women die from breast cancer in this country every year, and one in eight will be diagnosed in her lifetime. Those numbers become personal when you meet eye to eye with a huge throng of faces, knowing that all of them have had their lives turned upside down, because their mother, or sister, or daughter, or niece or grandmother, or best friend, or perhaps even themselves, stared at a dark shadow on a mammogram one day. All the duties — the kids, the homework, the good-night kiss, the job, the grocery, laundry and meals — had to be turned over to someone else, because she would become so ill as to lose all her hair, fingernails and eye lashes. In other words, to travel to hell. And hopefully, back.

Hope being the operative word here, it should be noted we’re very lucky here in Detroit. Of the 39 top comprehensive cancer research centers in the country, two are right here — Karmanos and the University of Michigan — and that means more access to clinical trials and specifically targeted treatment programs. And so, at the opening ceremonies, a group of survivors, ranging from decades-long remission to barely a year, got up on stage and blew bubbles that floated prism colors above the crowd. Then they sang Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young.” “... May you grow up to be righteous. May you grow up to be true ...”

Talk about goose bumps and cheers. You go, girl, indeed.

2004 Post-Race Commentary

              Matt Daly led from the start and was an easy winner Saturday of the 13th annual Race for Cure 5K in downtown Detroit, the largest running and walking event in the state.

       Daly, 20, of Livonia, a former All-State runner at Detroit Catholic Central now running for North Carolina, came down the long straightaway to the finish line outside Comerica Park with no one in sight, finishing in 15:13, a full minute ahead of runner-up Dave Peterson of Farmington.

       “I was trying to go for the record,” but I didn’t have it today,” said Daly, although he ran 20 seconds faster than his winning time of a year ago. The event record of 14:59 was set by Rich Stark in 1998. “I’m gearing up for the fall cross-country season and didn’t taper for this race.”

“He crushed it. Matt just took off,” said Peterson, runner-up two of the last three years. “It was a beautiful day, the bands were great. The best part of it was coming back down Woodward and seeing all the walkers still heading out.”

       Kristie Kieffer, 22, of Sterling Heights, was also a wire-to-wire winner in 18:23, improving on her third place of a year ago.

       “I wasn’t sure I was going to run well. I’ve been feeling crappy lately, but I felt good today. I felt good the whole way,” said Kieffer, who just finished her senior year of competing for Oakland University.

       Amie Kuznicki, 27, of Springfield Township, was second in 18:43. Third was Katy Kraft, 22, of Grosse Pointe Park, in 19:44. Katy’s mother, Alexa, was a pioneer of women’s running in Michigan who died of breast cancer and was a past honoree of the Race for a Cure, part of a national series of more than 100 races that raise money to fight breast cancer.

       A couple of runners in the mid-50s dominated the master’s (over-40) division. Larry Parker, 55, of Eastpointe, led the men in 18:08, while Nancy Cassel, 54, of Northville, defended her master’s title for the women in 20:21.

       Perfect weather and a date change that allowed the race to be held before schools let out for summer vacation boosted entries above the 25,000 mark, said race officials, an increase of about 5,000 from last year.

       At the 9 a.m. start, the throngs stretched from sidewalk to sidewalk across Woodward Avenue for four blocks.

       Hundreds wore pink T-shirts, signifying that they were breast-cancer survivors. Thousands of others wore pink signs on their back, saying “In celebration of . . . ” and listing the name or names of loved ones killed by breast cancer.

       One of the breast cancer survivors was Merion Knight, 67, of Southfield. She easily won her age group and was third among breast-cancer survivors, finishing in just over 26 minutes. Janice Conroy, 35, of Lake Orion was the first breast-cancer survivor, in 24:35.

       As it has for years, the Ford Motor team had the most members, about 2,800, of whom 184 are breast-cancer survivors. The Detroit Tigers New Kids on the Block Award – for the largest new team – went to a family team organized by Dale Stol called Stay and Play for the Cure, which had 327 members.

        - Tom Henderson, reprinted with permission of the author

Tragedy to Triumph

No Act of Kindness is Wasted

       In 1998, I walked my first Race with my husband John and a few co-workers who formed my first team. We were so moved by the experience that John, who wasn't a very outgoing person, insisted that we had to do that again the next year. John died suddenly that year, before the next race. I walked in his memory in 1999. The Komen Detroit Race for the Cure(R) turned my attention to the importance of this fight and what breast cancer means. Since 1997, I have been involved in a number of breast cancer awareness programs, including walking in the 2002 3-Day in Detroit, and representing the Lee National Denim Day each year at work, as well as participating in the Komen Detroit Race for the Cure(R). I have been asked many times why I do this - am I a survivor? Has someone in my family been affected? I always had to say, no, I just think it is very important and I love the people I have met while participating. This year, however, I am proud to be walking in the Race with my sisters and my niece. My sister Gloria is currently enrolled in the BCCCP (Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Control Program). Gloria came home to us from Arizona after 20 years away, uninsured and having run upon hard times, and with a lump in her breast. My friends from my breast cancer involvement directed me to the BCCCP, which is supported by funds from the Race. For the first time, I am the direct recipient (or at least my sister is) of benefits derived from one of the events I have supported since 1997. Over the years, I have raised about $10,000 in donations to the breast cancer cause. Now, as I watch caring nurses guide my sister through a screening process to determine if the lump in her breast is cancer, I am indescribably grateful that there are resources available to help us find out what we are up against and to treat her if necessary. On of my favorite sayings is from Aesop's story about the Lion and the Mouse: "No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted." The kindness I have attempted to show by my efforts, the kindess I have witnessed from others in these years of fighting at their sides, and the kindness that is being shown my sister, represent many small acts coming together into one great outpouring of love and compassion and courage. Thank you, Karmanos Cancer Institute, for the BCCCP. Thank you, everyone, for your courage and commitment. I am proud to walk with all of you. My family - Gloria W., Sandra M., Magan M., and me - Beverly C. - will be wearing the "Get Pink" shirts of the Wayne State University team and joining Sherrie A. (my heroine in the breast cancer war) on Saturday morning. I wish us all a beautiful day and a beautiful life! God bless.

        - Bev C.

Racing for Change

       I have been participating in the Race for the past five years, and each year it becomes more of a sentimental event to me, not because I am a survivor, but I have many friends who have "battled" this disease! I will continue to participate each year and try to exceed my donations from the previous year! Last year was particularly "emotional" because I found out that a dear lady who works on my part-time job, won her battle with cancer! She shared with me her fears and joys and she has been "cancer-free" for seven years now! She is such a sweetheart, and she participates in the race each year as well! I commend EVERYONE WHO PROMOTES, SPONSORS AND PARTICIPATES IN THIS EVENT! FOR THE CURE IS ON IT'S WAY! SO WE MUST CONTINUE TO "RACE FOR THE CURE®"!

        - Janice E.

In the Pink

       Seven years ago, I attended my first Detroit Race for the Cure® event, "in the pink."  Never having been, I expected the atmosphere to be sort of melancholy, people remembering their lost loved ones and such.  Instead, I was amazed at the unbelievable excitement in the air!  It was exhilarating....not sad at all!  I remember coming across the finish line that day and having this incredible feeling of power.  Not because I had won the (running) race, but because I had won MY race.  My personal race.  There I was.  I had crossed the line... I, had beaten breast cancer!  And there were all these women around to celebrate with!  Women, whom I had never met, yet felt so connected to.  Each of us filled with hope for the future.  It's only because of early detection that I will be at this year's "Lucky 13" Detroit Race for the Cure®.  I encourage all women to take charge of their own breast health.....do your monthly self exams & get your yearly mammograms!  Early detection is the key....it can mean the difference between life & death.  I know it did for me.  Because of the commitment to this very important event, by Karmanos Cancer Institute and hundreds of volunteers, many more thousands of people will learn about the importance of early detection.  It is with deep gratitude that I say "thank you"....to them, & to you.....your support is important...and it really does make a difference!

        - Shari F.

Walking for a Common Goal

       I was diagnosed with breast cancer in May of 2001. I was only 41 and really angry and scared that this was happening to me. I have always been an organic/natural person and the thought of radiation going in my body for 7 weeks was horrible. Well we all made it through that summer and then I became angry that this disease is so common and frightened that it could affect my daughter one day. She is who I truly walk for each year and spend the time to raise money from our generous friends and relatives. The power of all those people walking for a common goal is just overwhelming to me and I am in tears every year. My stomach churns for weeks before anticipating the event. Thank you to all who make this such a powerful event for so many of us.

        - Lynne L.

A Great Boost!

       I'd like to make some comments while they are fresh in my mind about the 2003 Race. I thought it was GREAT! Changing the date for better weather was a vast improvement! The addition of more water and restroom stops along the way was wonderful. The bands and variety of music along the way were very entertaining and a great booster. So were the personalized pink ribbons along the route. I liked the giveaways from the sponsors! Ford Motor Company keeps coming up with new and wonderful gifts. I hope to keep adding to my scarf collection for many more years. I travel from Ohio to do the Detroit Race because I enjoy it so much. The spirit and great organization of the Race are a great booster for me as a survivor.

        - Julie F.

Such An Inspiring Event

       Just want to take a minute to say thanks for the wonderful job you did in coordinating the Race. It was absolutely a wonderful event - so well planned, so perfectly organized! The many extra things you did this year such as presenting each survivor with a pink carnation were great. As a three year survivor who has now walked in the race for 3 years, it's hard to thank you enough and to explain how meaningful it is to me to be a part of such an event. I'm truly grateful to you and all the others who make this event such an inspiring event for the survivors and for all the participants.

        - Judy C.

The Youth Connection

       We who are involved in organizing the Race for the Cure® are overwhelmed by the support we receive from the community. Women and men of all ages, races, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds participate in the race and associated activities. The participation of young people is particularly gratifying, because the things they learn about cancer now could have a profound impact on their health in the future. There is no sure-fire way to guarantee a cancer-free life. But there are positive steps that can be taken to reduce significantly the likelihood of developing cancer. Healthy eating habits, regular exercise, avoiding smoking and limiting alcohol consumption can reduce the chances of contracting the disease. Another important thing to learn is that early detection of cancer almost always improves the chances of a cure. Young people who learn to monitor themselves for signs of cancer have a far better chance of beating the disease if it should arise. And young people have another important role. There is no better way for them to show their mothers that they love them than by insisting that their mothers take good care of themselves and get regular exams and mammograms. We would like to increase the attention given to this disease and emphasize the importance of healthy living and early detection. By walking or running in the race, we are reminding the women and men we love that there is much they can to do avoid the potentially devastating consequences of cancer. Let this large and impressive gathering on race day be a reminder of these things, and a labor of love for us and for our loved ones.

        - Jay Kozlowski, M.D.

Dr. Jay Kozlowski is a local physician and a father of three whose wife died of breast cancer in 1996.

If you are a school administrator or teacher, we urge you to involve your students in this important life-affirming event. Click here for a list of participating schools in the Komen Detroit Race for the Cure®, based on information provided on entry forms.

Rev. 3-24-2008