All photos courtesy of Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure

This year, Austin’s Race for the Cure will take place on Sunday, Nov. 7. Race headquarters will be at Auditorium Shores (Riverside and South First St.), and will open at 6 a.m. The main events won’t begin until a few hours later. The start guns fire at 8 a.m. for the 5K chip-timed race and the 5K wheelchair race. The 5K coed run/walk will start five minutes later at 8:05 a.m. To register for the event, visit www.komenaustin.org. Komen Austin Race for the Cure will provide shuttle buses to the race site that leave from Trinity between 15th and 17th Streets starting at 5:30 a.m.

People run for lots of different reasons. One jogger at Town Lake wants to drop a dress size, while another continues a daily ritual that began in high school years ago. Another swears it’s the only way to start her morning with a clear head, while yet another runs to vent stress after work. We expect people to have different impetuses for being active, but when it comes to an event like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, people’s motivations tend to unite. Whether drawn to the race because they want to do something good, they want to help out, or they just want to honor those who have struggled with breast cancer, the Komen Foundation serves as a model for those willing to leverage fitness for the greater social good. The sentiment of working for something larger than one’s self brings the pack at hundreds of Races for the Cure from the starting line through the last stride, 5K later. And truth be told, the vibe continues into the post-race tents and into many peoples’ lives long after the race is over.

Whether you’re a walker or runner, a survivor, a family member or a sympathetic friend, you’re likely to agree that there’s an ethos of action at the Race for the Cure. It’s an event that people want to get involved with, and because of its continued momentum, corporations have started taking notice, too. Since Yoplait partnered with the Komen Foundation in 2001, companies like New Balance and Danskin have introduced product lines with the pink ribbon logo, and BMW has launched the Drive for the Cure. In fact, Mrs. Baird’s has even stepped up to sponsor a Sleep-in for the Cure, catering to people who want to help fight breast cancer, but might not want to get out of bed for an early morning road race. And in my own experience, I have seen more people sporting the Komen Race for the Cure T-shirt than just about any other charity run-shirt around. Whatever the reason, this is an event and an organization that people want to be a part of.

What’s truly moving about the Race for the Cure isn’t the sheer number of people who elect to participate, or the staggeringly successful fund raising accomplished by the organization; it’s the people proudling wearing pink shirts and pink caps — the survivors — who make this event something special. I even had the good fortune of speaking with two of them, Mary Sigg and Paula Ortiz, who will be participating in pink at this year’s Komen Austin Race on Sunday, Nov. 7.

Meet Paula Ortiz, a seven-year survivor who was two years out of college and six weeks shy of her 25th birthday when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not surprisingly, she has participated in the Race for the Cure every year since 1998, first as a walker, now as a runner. The 1999 Race for the Cure was her first 5K run, and though she looks forward to posting new personal bests each year, she has taken off a few years to walk the course with her parents.

Ortiz participates for herself and others, because as she says, “It’s unfortunate, but it’s hard to meet someone who has not been touched by this disease in some way or another. If I’d not had [breast cancer], I’d be out there solely for my maternal grandmother who died from the disease in 1980. Now I’m out there for her, me and all the friends I’ve made in the breast cancer community.”

It’s quite astounding to think that a community could coalesce around a disease like breast cancer, but the Race for the Cure is proof positive that such a following exists. Another member of the community, Mary Sigg, has a different breast cancer story, but one that defines her own unique and personal legacy.

A mother of two and a grandmother of four, Sigg was 48 years old when she discovered a tumor in her breast. Almost three years later (she will be 51 on Oct. 31), this is an event that she speaks of excitedly. “When I was 48 they really weren’t sure I would make it to 49, so each year is an added blessing.” These words take on new significance when you realize what full and active years Sigg has lived since her diagnosis. She describes herself as “thriving and surviving” as she rattles off a list of athletic accomplishments this year that include completing the Danskin Tri in June, and taking on a rigorous training regimen in preparation for the Women’s Adventure Race in September, as well as the 25-mile Ride for the Roses. Sigg’s energy and enthusiasm are palpable when she talks about her new endeavors.

“I have just taken up race walking. Currently we [Sigg and her training partner Joy] race walk on Mondays, mountain bike on Tuesdays, kayak on Wednesdays and ride bikes on Thursday.” As if that weren’t enough, she trains hills every day on her road bike. Plus, she opts for the stairs instead of the elevator at work. Thriving and surviving indeed.

People react differently to the term survivor. Some women have voiced anger at the term — they hAll photos courtesy of Susan G. Komen Race For The Cureaven’t just survived breast cancer, they have beaten the disease. Others take a more moderate approach. They prefer to think that you live with — not die of — cancer. There’s an adage, “The moment you survive the diagnosis you become a ‘survivor’ and the moment your cancer has been detected, your success story begins.” Ortiz would seem to agree with this interpretation because she believes that she’s in fact “living now more than ever.”

“Breast cancer boosted my active life,” she says. “I was a couch potato before and never exercised. Today, I work out four to five times per week. I run, swim, attend my gym’s cardio group workouts and participate in impact kickboxing. I also have a wonderful fiancé who is very supportive of my endeavors — my career, my nonprofit work and my fitness goals.”

One might wonder if the rejuvenations both Ortiz and Sigg have experienced can be attributed to their having faced death so directly. It seems, however, that a scare alone won ’t turn one’s life around. Both women talk openly about the support systems that have helped them since their respective diagnoses. They also underscore the important role the Komen Foundation has played in helping them recapture vitality in the wake of a seemingly bleak future. Finally, they note the Komen Foundation’s essential emphasis on early detection. As they say, “ignorance is not bliss, it can kill you.”

Sigg first learned about the Komen foundation when she received her cancer results. Like many people, she was attracted to the Komen foundation because they provided robust information on their Web site, it was easy to find and it was written in a way that a layperson could understand. And so, in January of 2003 she began volunteering for the organization.

“I have done presentations, health fairs and other events where there is a need. Some of the best times have been when people have told me that I have made a difference in their lives. After providing information to a very concerned lady, she looked at me and said that she appreciated the information, but that she would really like to talk to someone who had been through it. I just smiled and said that she had been talking to that person for the last 15 minutes.”

Ortiz, who serves as president of the Capital of Texas Team Survivor and reviews research grants submitted to the National Komen Foundation from a survivor’s perspective, was presented with a Local Hero award by the Komen Austin Affiliate last June. She has volunteered as a member of the Komen education committee and has been a board member of the Breast Cancer Research Center of Austin since 1998. While few survivors give back with the same verve Ortiz has, such dedicated service speaks volumes about the impact the Komen Foundation can have on the lives of women with breast cancer.

In addition to having unrivaled support from people who’ve benefited from their services, the Komen Foundation also has been commended for their fiscal responsibility. Out of more than 819,000 U.S. charities evaluated in 2001, the Komen Foundation was one of 26 health organizations that appeared on Worth Magazine’s list of “America’s Best 100 Charities.” The Web site, www.komen.org, breaks down their spending as follows: mission-related activities, including grants and programs related to breast cancer research (22%), education (36%), screening (11%) and treatment (6%). This accounts for $96 million of their budget, or more than 74 percent of total spending. Of the remaining 25 percent of funds, dollars were spent on fund raising (16%) and administrative costs (9%). Eighty-two cents of every dollar raised is available to fund mission programs and services.

Today, the Race for the Cure Series comprises more than 100 5K run/fitness walks, making it the largest 5K series in the world. Likewise, the Komen National Race, which is held annually in Washington, D.C., has enjoyed tremendous growth. The national race has increased nearly ten-fold in its 15-year history, from 7,000 to 60,000 registered participants. A likely reason for this exponential growth is what Ortiz describes as an “electrifying crowd.” “Knowing that you’re run is good for more than the sweat on your brow can be a powerful motivator,” she says.

When you’ve heard stories of painful TAXOL treatment and chemotherapy, hair loss and body aches so overpowering that, as Sigg describes them, “even [your] face hurts,” it makes the hill in front of you seem a lot easier to overcome. Just something to think about the next time you see a runner in a pink shirt or cap.

Sigg also shared a poignant passage from the journal she’s kept since January 2002. She started writing on the day she informed her friends and family that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She calls this journal the Sigg Adventure, and closes one entry as follows: “This breast cancer is a very scary adventure — there are no guarantees, no one knows what actually causes it and there is no cure for it. It is very strange to have something, knowing that you will never hear the words cured, at least not yet.”

However, the Race for the Cure offers an opportunity to work toward a time when the disease won’t be so scary, there will be a cure and those who have been affected will do more than survive — they will thrive.