Iowa Breast Cancer Race Spurs Record Registration

The "Especially for You" Race Against Breast Cancer is an annual event held every October through Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids. In conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness month, this year was the event's 32nd go-round and according to KCRG, it saw historic numbers as Iowans' awareness and urgency to support the cause continue to grow.

So many people have either had the illness or watched someone they love experience it. We recently posted a story highlighting this, as two Eastern Iowa twin sisters got their diagnoses just a few months apart. In that same story, we reported on the startling statistic from the CDC that approximately 264,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

Regular screenings and early detection are key to preventing or reducing your chances of obtaining it, and awareness of that fact is the aim of the "Especially for You" Race Against Breast Cancer.

The "race" features several different events, including a 5k race, a freestyle run, and a walk. It started in 1991 and reached its previous record registration numbers in 2011. This past weekend, that record was broken, as approximately 15,800 people were registered to take part. Those registrations raised more than $499,500 for the Especially for You Fund.

The race co-founder Cindy Young, whose sister died of breast cancer, explains more about the event's importance.

[It] started very early in 1991, after my sister Sandy Knight passed away from metastatic breast cancer,” Young said. “She was a visionary. She wanted to help people, so we got together with General Mills and Mercy Medical Center and decided to do a 5K race, a run, and a walk. And the first one was held in very late October 1991.”

It's also not just Iowans that participate. This year's event represented 540 cities and 40 states, as well as Sweden and British Columbia and there were registrants as old as 99 years old!

It was amazing weather for all involved and planning for next year will soon begin.