Grace For The Cure

They predicted a crowd of 20,000 for the 14th Annual Southern Nevada Race for the Cure. However many actually came, they took more than 80 minutes to pass by the Cheese Factory, which sits along the course for the 5K run & walk, but also has a view that includes the 1-mile fun walk course.

They came in waves. They came in colors designating schools, sororities, their companies or teams formed in honor of loved ones lost, struggling or saved. They came wearing pink... Shirts, ribbons, socks, scarves and even capes in honor of the cause.

They came pulling wagons, pushing strollers and wheelchairs. They came in small clusters or chanting cadences in tight formations:

I want to be a firefighter
I want to go to rookie school
I want to be a firefighter
I must be a crazy fool

The Las Vegas City Fire Department's cadets wore red t-shirts, their instructors blue. A similar platoon from Clark County's Fire Academy came a few minutes later wearing coats and pants from their protective turnout gear.

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure raises significant funds for the fight against breast cancer, celebrates breast cancer survivors, and honors those who have lost their battle with the disease. They promise 75% of funds raised would stay in Southern Nevada, where budget crises resulted in closure of the public hospital's out-patient chemotherapy clinic, while the other 25% goes toward research.

And while many wore the official t-shirts stenciled with "Race for the Cure," one woman carried a sign asking "Grace for the Cure."

I hope God saw that one, too.