This past weekend I was in Philly visiting Ted and Jane, and it happened to be the same weekend as the “Komen Race for the Cure” event which raises money for breast cancer research, so I joined them in registering and participating in the 5 km run. Since there were about 15,000 people, unless you were at the front of the pack, it was difficult to get any speed, so we basically jogged along at a leisurely pace for 30 minutes.

I had a good time at the Race for the Cure, and while I whole heartedly support breast cancer research, I still don’t understand why people tie this– or any cause for that matter– with a running event. The idea of associating a foot race with cancer research and having people shout stuff like, “Go, go, race for that cure!” along the street just sounds silly to me, no matter how noble or worthy the cause. To me, it’d make just as much sense to have “Game for the Cure” or “Cook for the Cure” or “Check Email for the Cure” events; or better yet, just have people donate money and not ask them to do anything else. If someone wants to go for a run after they donate money, more power to them.