The second-annual Run To Beat Pancreatic Cancer was held in Colorado Springs, CO on April 3rd, 2016. This year’s race featured a 5k run with an accompanying 1 mile walk in beautiful North Monument Valley Park. Colorado Springs is the second-largest city in Colorado, a state known for attracting people who are seeking an active, outdoor lifestyle. Nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain just one hour between Denver and Pueblo, Colorado Springs is the perfect location to attract participants from all points on the Front Range.
As any race director will tell you, the weeks and final days leading up to an event are marked by event-planning stress and general mayhem. However, it is incredibly rewarding to see all of the hard work come together and pay off as runners and walkers enjoy themselves. I could not have asked for better weather on the morning of April 3rd. When we arrived to set up on race morning, it was in the mid-30s, but temperatures rose quickly, eventually topping out in the 60s. Conditions were perfect for a fast run or a leisurely stroll. We had an incredible turnout, with over 500 registered walkers and runners. Some came because they wanted to run our flat and fast course, compete with friends and possibly earn some awards. Others came because they have been personally touched by pancreatic cancer and wanted to fundraise for a cause they care about.
Then, the pack of runners and walkers were off!
Thanks to Peak Embroidered Apparel, we had beautiful technical race shirts.
Our award winners received these beautiful medals.
We also had prizes and raffle gifts to give out from Boulder Running company, Colorado Running Company, Red Leg Brewing Company, Sonterra Grill and Over Easy. Who doesn’t love to win some swag? Thanks so much to these businesses for providing gifts for our participants!
Prizes are awesome, but the best gift for me was seeing hundreds of people out having fun on race day. We have a tremendous community in Colorado Springs, and the spirit of giving is alive and well here.
None of this would be possible without our fabulous sponsors. Thank you to Dr. Scott Suter, of Suter Orthodontics. Not only is a terrific orthodontist, he is also a runner!
Thank you to Penrose-St. Francis Health Systems, Associates in Gastroenterology, Marco’s Pizza and Jack Quinn’s Running Club, Michael Everson Insurance Agency and Rocky Mountain Prosthetic Dentistry for their support of this event. The generosity of these businesses contributed greatly to the success of this event and we are grateful for the community support.
Finally, no event of this magnitude can succeed without the help of volunteers. We had dozens of volunteers come out to help with the race and we needed every single one of them.
Thank you to Tim Bergsten of Pikes Peak Sports for taking photos and video of the event.
To view video of the race start, click here:
http://www.pikespeaksports.us/video/start-of-the-run-to-beat-pancreatic-cancer
To view race photos from the event, click here:
http://www.pikespeaksports.us/photo/albums/gallery-1-run-to-beat-pancreatic-cancer-5k
and here:
http://www.pikespeaksports.us/photo/albums/gallery-2-run-to-beat-pancreatic-cancer
For anyone wishing to donate to this race, general donations can still be made here:
https://www.crowdrise.com/generaldonations52
We are already looking ahead to next year. We hope to make next year’s run/walk an even bigger and better event! Thank you to everyone who came out to Run/Walk to Beat Pancreatic Cancer this year. Registration information will be coming soon for the 2017 event!
