Run to Inner Harbor to race for cure

Maybe you've seen the Inner Harbor flocking with people before, but at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning? You better believe it. With pink balloons and free food abounding, a lot is going down in Baltimore next weekend because it's that time of the year again: Whether you have breasts or not, you can be out racing for the cure to breast cancer next Saturday, Oct. 13.

Indeed, something has got to be good to attract throngs of people. You might have heard of Race for the Cure in your hometown. You might have seen their now infamous pink ribbons displayed around. Worldwide, this 5K (3.1 miles) and one mile Fun Walk is making waves in raising money for breast cancer research and awareness.

But if you've never run it before, then you're missing out on one fantastic experience for yourself. Although it falls at a time when most people are still passed out from the night before, Race for the Cure in Baltimore can be more fun than you've ever had on a fresh Saturday morning in October - the typical date for the annual Baltimore Race.

In Baltimore, the race consistently draws 5,000 more runners out of bed each year, hitting a stunning 25,000 runners last year. There's a definite thrill you get being out there, just you and your friends, as one of thousands who have joined to remember those who have died, to celebrate those who have survived and to have fun while doing it.

Race for the Cure was founded not long ago in 1990 by former Carter White House Social Secretary Gretchen Poston. Poston, who was battling breast cancer herself, joined with Marilyn Quayle and Washington Post fashion editor Nina Hyde at a time when "breast" was still a hush-hush word and breast cancer was, well, embarrassing. Together, the three women launched a Washington, D.C. area race to raise money for research and awareness of breast cancer.

Already in its inaugural year, the Komen National Race wowed everyone, attracting over 7,500 participants and raising nearly half a million dollars for breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment. Pleased with the initial success, Poston set a personal goal to keep up the 5K race until it could draw over 25,000 participants onto the streets of Washington, D.C. and raise one million dollars.

Sadly, Poston soon lost her personal battle against the disease she'd worked so hard to fight. However, the Komen National Race for the Cure that she initiated has grown steadily every since and continues her work even today on an amazing scale. It far surpassed Poston's expectations and has now become the largest 5K run/walk in the world, raising nearly $3 million for breast cancer programs and attracting nearly 70,000 participants in 2000.

On race day, though, it's all about you and good times. While local malls like Towson Towne Center offer sign-up booths starting weeks before the race, runners can arrive early on race morning to pay the entrance fee, grab a shirt and a race number, and join the crowd. The shirts change logo color every year and are hot commodities on the collectors market, too: Annual race-runners love to flaunt the multi-color collection they've amassed from year to year. The more the better, they say. And why not.

Here in Baltimore, the scene starts getting pumped up already around 7:30 a.m., with hundreds of pink balloons - the same ones they fly from Mongolia to Israel to Madagascar - forming a second sunrise in the sky. Pink is definitely the color of the day, for love or for exercise. Many runners wear pink tags on their back dedicating their race in memory or in celebration of a loved one. Some runners announce a race in recognition of their own survival stories. And everyone is there to Race for the Cure.

Rashfield, between the Science Center and the Rusty Scupper, serves as the race hub, providing sign-up booths, DJs and a place to talk for all the early risers. The first balloon arch appears here, marking the stage at the foot of the field. From up under the pink balloons, Lynne Brick, a local fitness trainer - who's daughter actually went to elementary school with me and who got us hooked on her awesome workouts - pumps out a work out to set flight to those early morning blues and maybe get everyone glowing a little pink, too.

There are three races for the morning: a Women's 5K, an Open 5K and a 1-Mile Fun Walk. Runners sign up to participate in one of the three, and yes, the "open" race is just a nice way of categorizing the group that is mainly guys and what loving wives or girlfriends will deny their gender to keep their boy company. The Fun Walk is for all the toddlers and strollers.

Anyway, all are a blast, and none require you to actually run unless you really want to. Until one's race starts, runners can spend time doing the "booth tour," or, in other words, checking out the race sponsors' stands that surround Rashfield. This activity basically compares to the Hopkins Job Fair, if you've ever been, but leaves you not only with 10 times the amount of free pens and sketchpads, but with more highlighters, t-shirts, lanyards, toaster strudel samples and shampoo testers than you could imagine. Not to mention the free literature on breast cancer - which, by the way, can target women and men.

While you might get your morning work-out just from lugging your new booty, look sharp. The race itself is more than half the fun, and there's even more free food at the end.

The start of the race is behind the Harborplace Pavilion on Light St. Here, you'll find pink balloon arch number two. Runners line up behind the starting line alongside signs that group people by their predicted mile pace. For most, it's a leisurely eight to 10-minute mile, if not less, for the walkers.

There are those hardcore people, though, that actually race this race to win. They'll be the ones up front by the four-minute marker, and you'll be awed by their race times when the winners are announced at the end. And although they get some awesome prizes, everyone is a winner on race day, because not only do you have tons of free stuff, but you're helping a valuable cause.

The race is sent off by a booming rifle and heads out for 3.1 miles (5K) along the scenic streets of Baltimore and back by Mount Vernon, wrapping up for a final stretch behind the Science Center. It's a lovely, relaxed course, with few gradients, and the entire city turns out to cheer you on from the sidewalk, from out of car windows and from atop their marble doorsteps. Tons of volunteers hand out water at the mile marks and read off your cut time, in case you're interested. The joy of it is, no one is rushing you unless you want to hurry yourself. It's all about the fun.

By the final pink arch, you're probably glowing pink, too. Beaming volunteers hand out water bottles and then point you to tables heaped with bagels and fruit, Gatorade and donuts, toaster pastries and muffins.

In the end, seeing all that you get out of it, it's awesome to think that the world is getting something out of it, too. It's a win-win situation. And it only gets better every year.