- Special luxury ride for breast cancer patients who are unable to physically walk the race but want to make the journey along the course.
- The faces of breast cancer survivors as they crossed the finish line and were presented with a hug, flower and medal. Beautiful.
- The many teams, with shirts and signs honoring a beloved friend or family member impacted by breast cancer. There were a lot of tears and smiles. Very touching and heart warming.
- The witty (and sometimes risqué) shirts about the cause. My favorites – a man wearing a pink wig, leggings and tutu with a shirt that read: “BREAST CANCER Aint nobody got time for that!”, and a young beautiful woman in a ridiculously kooky outfit centered around a shirt that read “I’ve lost a boob, but not my sense of humor.”

- Other out there outfits and antics including a set of brothers who leap frogged to the finish line. Yep – they did…not the whole race of course, just the end. SMH.
- The “Pretty in Pink” warm up was by the Hip Hop DocDr. Rani Whitfield. The song is a rap honoring the strength of women fighting breast cancer. It’s available on itunes and amazonand all proceeds go to the Susan B. Komen Foundation of Baton Rouge. (I greatly admire the work Dr Whitfield does promoting health and wellness in the African American community.)
- The ability to upcharge your registration to include placement at the front of the start line, (so runners are not blocked by walkers), race timing, separate finish area and a medal.
- Abundant food/drinks/information booths. The Jambalaya village was ON!
Another huge highlight was sharing the race with members of my church family. Team New Hope showed up. Our largest team in years, we got Third place in the Religious Team category. A few members pushed their comfort zones – completing the 5k instead of the intended 1 mile fun run. Others ran for the first time … and loved it. It was wonderful participation and fellowship.
Hands down, this is my favorite 5k race. Thanks to the organizers and volunteers who work so hard and are passionately connected to the cause. See you next year.
BTW – quick race info: It was COLD (well South Louisiana cold that morning…I’m thinking the 40s). I did a comfortable run as it was my first time out post Rock N Roll Marathon 6 days ago. 10 min/mile avg pace (per Garmin) 10 1/2 mm per chip reporting. Enjoyed it!