'Sisters and Survivors' ... and support

COEUR d'ALENE — Rarely has there ever been so much pink.

Pink shirts, pink socks. Pink hats and pink jackets. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people — young and old, big and small, male and female — clad in bright fluorescent pink, the symbolic color of the ongoing fight against breast cancer.

On Sunday at North Idaho College, all that pink assembled for the 11th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

Runners loped 5 kilometers, while most walkers followed a 1-mile course along the waterfront. Many breast cancer survivors raced together, side by side. Teams gathered to remember a friend or loved one, wearing small placards to identify who they were racing for.

The atmosphere was happy and hopeful.

"I think it was great. I support it every year," said Linda Reiter of Hayden, an 11-year breast cancer survivor. "(Our team is) called 'Sisters and Survivors.' We had six survivors, 20 people total. It's nice to come back and see the people from your support group that you'd started with, and how they've grown. In our group there are sisters of survivors, grandchildren ... it's just kind of a family thing."

Family was a powerful theme at Sunday's event. Julie Walkington, from Sandpoint, raced to honor her sister, Jenny. She wore colorful socks with Jenny's name inscribed on the tubes.

"My sister passed away two years ago from breast cancer," Walkington said. "She fought the fight for eight years."

Jenny was 34 when she died; she was pregnant with a baby girl when she was first diagnosed with cancer.

"We have a beautiful little girl named Grace, who will be 10 in November," Walkington said. "It's an important event for us."

After the race, participants wandered over to Fort Sherman Park for the award ceremony. Muffins, bagels and yogurt were available, and various sponsors had erected informational tents.

Teams and individuals, totaling around 1,000 people, raised over $30,000 for this year's event. The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Coeur d'Alene Affiliate, a local nonprofit that hosts the annual race, will grant 75 percent of the proceeds to area organizations — groups that offer breast cancer education, screening or treatment to Inland Northwest residents.

Twenty-five percent of the proceeds will go to the Susan G. Komen national headquarters in Dallas, where the money will be used for breast cancer research.

Kootenai Health was this year's biggest team, 81 members strong. Echelon L.L.C. collected $2,230 and was the top fundraising team of 2010.

Racer Lynette Schaller raised $675, the most of any individual.

"It's fabulous — every year it's gotten bigger and bigger, and that's good to seem" said Lynn Hauer, the 2010 honorary race chair and a 26-year survivor. "When I was undergoing treatment, I wanted to talk to people who were still alive and going through it, because you want to know there's going to be a tomorrow. It's kind of overwhelming."

Tom Hauer was on hand to support his wife Sunday. He participated in the first Coeur d'Alene Race for the Cure, and he's seen the event grow over the years.

"I think it's great for the community," Hauer said. "It's just wonderful to have it here, especially since most of the money stays local."

In the 11 years since it was founded, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Coeur d'Alene Affiliate has granted over $1 million to local organizations. Just like the nationwide Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the Cd'A group "is working to support and better the lives of those facing breast cancer," according to its website.

Sunday's race was another step in that direction.

"It's neat to see everybody that has survived, and to know that it is something that's survivable," said Coeur d'Alene resident Jan Orr, who was diagnosed 16 years ago. "It gives you a lot of hope to think, 'Oh, I can do this too.'"