For the first time, Athens hosted a Race for the Cure event and has raised more than $38,000 so far.
Nicole Phillips was crying when she ran across the finish line of the 5K at Sunday’s Athens Race for the Cure.
“I was breathing pretty heavy coming over the finish line, and all of the sudden I started to cry and I realized I had to make myself stop crying because sobbing and breathing heavy from running do not mix," Phillips, the honorary chair of the event, said. "So I had to try to pull in together so I could actually get my body across the finish line."
Sunday’s race was the first Race for the Cure event to take place in Athens. The race has raised $38,793.12 out of its $50,000.00 goal as of press time, according to the event’s website.
In May, Phillips was diagnosed with breast cancer. Phillips, along with her husband Saul Phillips, Ohio University's basketball coach, said she moved to Athens in May of 2014.
“I didn’t know anyone when we moved here, so now here we are a year and a half later," Phillips said. "There were 1,500 people (at the race) and I felt like I knew most of them and that was really, really special,” Phillips said.
The race started at Walter Fieldhouse and ended on the bike path. Participants could race in the 5K run, 5K walk or the one-mile family fun walk.
Phillips had a team of her own which had more than 70 people on it, and added that it was her first time attending a Race for the Cure event.
She said it was emotional seeing people wear signs reading "I race in celebration of" or "I race in honor of." Her children wore signs that said "I race in celebration of my mom."
“It kind of takes your breath away when you see people are coming out to support you that way,” Phillips said.
Phillips' daughter Jordan was the top fundraiser for the race and raised $4,500 by selling coffee cup cozies since August, she said.
Caitlin Swartz walked in Sunday’s race to support her boss at OU Parking Services.
“My boss is a breast cancer survivor, she’s one of the best people I’ve ever met and it’s just a way to give back for her and it's healthy at the same time,” Swartz, an Athens resident who walked the 5K with a group of employees, said.
Although this was Swartz's first Race for the Cure event, she said she plans on attending more and thinks the race should happen every year in Athens.
“It just like the sense of community. It’s for a good cause,” Swartz said. “You see so many survivors, it’s very humbling.”
Divya Yellamraju, a sophomore at Athens High School, also attended her first Race for the Cure event Sunday and walked the 5K.
“I just wanted to support all the people with breast cancer and all the women that family and friends have lost,” Yellamraju said, adding that that her mom’s friend was impacted by cancer.
Suzy Aftabizadeh, a junior at Athens High School who also attended Sunday’s race, said two of her cousins are breast cancer survivors.
“It was really cool because they usually just do this in big cities,” Aftabizadeh said. “It was really nice to have it in Athens and see that people in Athens could do it.”
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