CUDA: More than a thousand people turned out on a chilly and blustery morning for the 5th annual footrace – simply called “The Race”. No one seemed to mind the dark clouds threatening rain. Toddlers, teenagers and adults were all smiles and cheers as they assembled behind the starting line.
//SOT: crowd noise // “Ready, set, GO!” Sound of running and cheering. “2 laps guys, 2 laps”
CUDA: The two laps around the empty streets of the Legacy Village outdoor shopping mall in Lyndhurst Ohio take just under 10 minutes to complete, but the money they raise today will have lasting results for cancer research.
CUDA: Runners pass the darkened windows of high-end stores like Crate and Barrel, Z-Gallery, and Talbots – cheeks rosy from the cold, friends and family cheering them on.
// SOT: Cheering
It’s not the typical way to spoil your mom on Mother’s Day, but breast cancer survivor and Mom Patti Berns, can’t think of a better honor.
PATTI BERNS: Nothing means more to me than seeing all these people rallying around doing something for the good of the world.
CUDA: And she has reason to be proud of this race – it was her son Josh’s idea. Josh was 11 when he came up with the idea of a race specifically for kids as a way to raise awareness for breast cancer research. Today he is 16 and the race has gotten more successful every year.
JOSH BERNS: The first year we had about 800 people …
PATTI BERNS: And this past year we had over a thousand and we raised a little over 84 thousand dollars.
CUDA: More than 225 thousand dollars has been raised by the race since it began– and this year they hope to add another 100 thousand dollars to that sum. The money goes to the Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Research Center, and will be used to support cutting edge research that aims to identify the genetic and molecular markers involved in breast cancer. Dr. Joseph Crowe heads the research and says the ultimate goal is to create treatments that are tailored to an individual’s genetic make-up.
CROWE: We’re beginning to understand that breast cancer is really a variety of diseases – that is to say different people’s breast cancer behaves differently. We’re at a point now where we can begin to study and appreciate the different molecular and genetic biological differences from one breast cancer to another.
CUDA: Crowe’s research involves collecting small samples of the cancerous tissue from his patients before and after chemotherapy. By comparing an individual’s genetic markers to their response to the drugs, he hopes to develop a way to predict which drugs a patient will respond to.
CROWE: This initial funding will translate into benefits for thousands and thousands of people.
CUDA: But while they are thrilled to be supporting medical research, the Berns’ say the goal of the race is to raise awareness first and money second. Most breast cancer fundraisers are geared toward adults – but breast cancer affects the whole family, including the kids. They say it’s an opportunity for kids to talk about cancer, as well as a way for them to get involved. The money they raise primarily comes from corporate sponsorship but Berns says she is always surprised by the fundraising efforts of the kids themselves.
PATTI BERNS: I just found out about a couple of girls in Solon who were doing a concert in their backyard and charging an admission fee and the money they raise will be donated to the event – so it’s kind of neat to see that it’s spurring things on and getting other kids involved.
CUDA: Other kids like Justin Brodskey, also from Solon, who has mobilized his sixth-grade class to raise several thousand dollars selling blue elastic bracelets in support their teacher –Mrs. Rooney.
//SOT: Happy Mother’s day Mrs. Rooney!
CUDA: And although she braved the morning’s cold to come and cheer them on- it’s clear it’s her students --who this mother’s day --are rooting for her. Gretchen Cuda. 90.3