dempsey challenge weekend 2012

There is nothing like the energy of being in a crowd of people who have come together to support an amazing cause, even if the temps are just above freezing and you're there well before you're normally even out of bed on a Saturday morning.

I have participated in the Dempsey Challenge since its inaugural event in 2009, and yesterday's turnout at the 5K and 10K Run/Walk  in Lewiston, Maine, was --as usual-- nothing short of awe-inspiring! The photo above was of the people in front of me waiting to start. There were just as many lined up behind me!

It really is all about the cause for me, but it is pretty cool to get a glimpse of Patrick Dempsey :) I did feel kind of weird taking his picture though, and tried to sneak it. I didn't want to be seen snapping it, lol, even if he is used to that sort of thing or has no clue who I am.

My plan had been to run the 10K with my lifelong friend Erika, as we have the last two years, but that cold I whined about earlier in the week only got worse and by yesterday morning, I had barely any voice and a hacking cough that left my lungs burning in its wake. Running 6.2 miles would have done me in not helped my situation, so we walked instead. That ended up being okay. We still made really good time, and it gave us more opportunity to catch up.

Oh! I exceeded my fundraising goal, by the way. It was $300, and one last donation made just three hours before the race put me at $320. I am extremely pleased!! So, if you donated over the past few months --and are reading this-- thank you very, very much.

I started participating in 2009 because I know what it's like to be part of a family who could use some direction on the path to fighting cancer but live in an area where such resources aren't readily available. I know how the Patrick Dempsey Center for Hope and Healing could have helped us way back when, and I want to make sure it stays available for others who need it.

Last year, my focus shifted. The driving force of my participation became the memory of my beloved Auntie, who was diagnosed with late-stage lymphoma in May 2011 and lost her life to it just two months later on July 20th.

When you're walking along, and talking to a friend you haven't seen in a year, it's easy to get distracted and forget exactly why you're there. Maybe that's why the event organizers chose to place the memory and honor signs just before the finish line. It's a sobering reminder of the reality of cancer and the lives affected by and lost from it.

Walking by these signs was a very powerful, very humbling experience. It gave crossing the finish line a whole new meaning, and reminded me to be grateful. It also made me realize I want to do more than I've done in the past for the Dempsey Center. I just have to figure out what more means and work on a plan to achieve that.

This has become a weekend that I look forward to every year, especially since the second year when Erika started participating with me. We've made it into an annual event that encompasses not only the Challenge, but also lots of food, shopping, and catching up. We only live about two hours away from each other, but it ends up being the one time a year we get to see each other. Our lives get busy, and time flies, and before we know it, it's October again.

It was such a positive, wonderful weekend, but I still find it difficult not to be sad that it is already over. It feels like it just started! I guess I just have to keep reminding myself that the 2013 Challenge will be here again in the blink of an eye.