The 10th annual Paint the Town Pink 5K Color Run is quickly approaching, and this year's event is shaping up to be the biggest yet.
The annual event, which benefits the #teamcorrie Cancer Foundation, is set for this Saturday, Oct. 1, starting at the corner of Elm and Jefferson streets. More than 250 people have already signed up, said Kristi Lowery, vice president of the foundation.
"It's surreal that it's been 10 years that we've had this," Lowery said. "The support of the community -- they show up and show out every single year."
The #teamcorrie Cancer Foundation raises money at the annual 5K -- which is always held near the beginning of October in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month -- to provide local "cancer warriors" with grants of up to $1,500 to help cover their medical expenses.
Foundation President Sandy Gross explained that when her daughter, Corrie Gross Bechtelheimer, for whom the foundation is named, was battling stage IV breast cancer, she paid $3,000 every three weeks for some of her treatments. Some of her friends organized the first Paint the Town Pink fundraiser to raise money for her medical expenses, and some of those funds helped get the foundation off the ground after Bechtelheimer passed away in 2014.
Gross said she made two promises to her daughter before her death: that her children, Rob and Sloane, would know who she was and that she loved them; and that her family would try to help others in the community.
"We started out with just $500 (grants) -- we didn't know if we could raise any money or if people would even want a grant -- but through the support we've had from the community, we've raised it up to $1,500 and we've given 226 grants. I mailed the 226th last week," Gross said. "We've given $240,000 to cancer patients in Union County, and it's been everything from a child, 4 years-old, to someone 84 years-old; male, female; all kinds of cancer, are all involved in what we do."
This year's event will also honor the memory of a #teamcorrie grant recipient who passed away in May following a cancer diagnosis. The Leslie Darden Memorial 5K will be a competitive race held alongside the Color Run, which is a family-friendly 5K where walking is also allowed.
"She was very passionate about running -- she was a leader in the running community in south Arkansas and was one of the founders of the South Arkansas Hustlers running group. To honor her memory, we decided to add the competitive component," Lowery said. "She was very grateful for #teamcorrie and she actually held fundraisers to help us raise money so that we could continue to help other cancer warriors."
Darden worked as a lab technician for 12 years at SAMA and had qualified for the 2020 Boston Marathon, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, she able to participate in a virtual marathon provided by the group that manages the annual race.
In July, city officials recognized her memory by dedicating the Leslie Ann Darden Trail, the walking/running/biking trail that encompasses the Lions Club Park and Municipal Golf Course, in her honor.
The theme of this year's Paint the Town Pink event is 'Dreaming of a Cure.' Participants are encouraged to wear their pajamas to the race if they want to, Lowery and Gross said.
"We thought that would be a super fun theme, and since it is at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning, you can just roll out of bed and come on down," Lowery said. "We will have the best team spirit award, and so that's usually a group that dresses up and shows the most spirit throughout the race."
"I hope they do show up with their pajamas on," Gross laughed. "This year, in our packets, we ordered a bunch of sleep masks; we thought that would be cute with the theme."
Lowery also said 16 "paint stations" -- the most ever -- will be set up along the route, manned my Camp Fire troops whose members will toss non-toxic, washable, environment-safe colored powders on the runners. (And those who don't want to be covered in powder can easily avoid the stations by running around them, she noted.)
Registration for the Color Run will remain open up to the morning of the event, but those who wish to sign up for the competitive 5K must do so by Tuesday, Lowery said. A judge for the competitive 5K will be bringing supplies, like timing chips to put in runners' shoes, to the event, so the head-count for the Leslie Darden 5K needs to be in early.
Those who pre-register can pick up their packets on Friday, Sept. 30, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the circle driveway on the north side of the Murphy USA building. Those who can't pick up their packets then may do so Saturday morning between 7 and 8 a.m. at the starting line.
Those running in the Leslie Darden 5K will begin the race, and Color Run participants will follow. Both 5Ks will follow the same route, which will start at Elm and Jefferson, head north on Jefferson around Mellor Park Mall, turn east onto 13th Street, turn south onto Madison Avenue and end at the corner of Hill and Main streets, back on the Square. Runners will take off at 8 a.m.
Carter Bryant will be waiting at the finishing line, playing music and directing line dancing, as participants finish their races. Once everyone has made it back, awards for the winners of the 5K will be handed out, along with prizes for those with the best team spirit and best wheels, which Lowery explained will go to someone who carries a stroller, golf cart or wagon -- anything with wheels -- decorated for the occasion.
Those who live along the 5K route can also decorate their yard for a chance for an award, she said.
"And that's where we do our big color burst -- we have individual packets of the colored powder we hand out, and everybody opens these little packets up and throws them into the air at the same time," Gross said. "It's a really big burst of powder. That's how we end the race."
Lowery noted that all funds raised through Paint the Town Pink will go toward grants for local cancer warriors.
"There are no administrative costs associated with #teamcorrie, no salaries, no rent. The only this we do is postage to mail the grants," she said. "Everything else goes directly to the patients."
Gross said the community's support over the past decade continues to have an impact on her every time she sends a check to someone in Union County battling cancer.
"Every time I write a check and sign it, I look up and say 'this is for you, Corrie.' It helps ease the pain to know we're doing something she would have wanted and that we're helping other people," she said.
She also urged local women to be diligent about getting regular mammograms.
For more information about this year's event, visit facebook.com/teamcorriePTTPFunrun. A registration link is available on the Facebook page.