St. MARY-OF-THE-WOODS — Of the 2,554 people at Saturday’s 12th annual Wabash Valley Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, at least 50 of them were part of “Mary’s Rack Pack.”
Mary Harbaugh, 41, of Terre Haute was diagnosed with breast cancer in June and is undergoing treatment.
Donning brown T-shirts with a small pink ribbon in the top left corner on the front and “Mary’s Rack Pack” in big pink, block letters on the back, it was easy to see who was with Mary.
“It’s humbling and overwhelming to have all of this support,” said Mary, who was wearing a pink shirt with her name on the back in silver letters. This was Mary’s third or fourth time at the race, but first time as a breast cancer patient, she said.
“It’s a huge morale booster,” she said. “It’s just great to see so many people here.”
About 90 percent of the people who participate in the Race are in a team, said race registration chair Jessica Clevenger. The more than 2,500 people in attendance was more than last year, she said, but not the most they’ve ever had.
Rick and Kay Baldomero of West Terre Haute were part of Mary’s pack. Kay said she heard about it from Mary’s sister who is her friend.
“I think the emotional support is just outstanding,” Kay, 48, said about Mary’s pack. “It takes a whole community, family and friends to go through something like this.”
She said she’s been coming to the race for nine or 10 years, but this was her first time there for Mary.
Events such as this reaffirms to the cancer patients they’re not alone, Rick, 42, added.
That was the idea for Mary’s pack, said one of her best friends Tracie Taylor, 42, of Terre Haute, who helped organize the pack.
The group voted on the shirts through Mary’s blog, which she started to keep her friends and family updated on her condition, Taylor said. There were a lot of suggestions, she said.
Though some were not appropriate to put in the newspaper, Taylor said, another suggestion was “Save the Ta Tas,” but the majority decided “Mary’s Rack Pack” was the best.
Taylor said having so many people to support Mary has “really helped boost her spirits emotionally.”
“She has said the one good thing about having breast cancer is it made her realize all of the friends and family she has,” Taylor said.
New for the race this year was “Tinkle Me Pink” and “Kids for a Cure.”
Corporate sponsors paid an entry fee and decorated some of the outhouses at the race for “Tinkle Me Pink.” Managers from three area Krogers and a member of each branch of the military were the judges. Four outhouses were decorated.
Children who participated in “Kids for a Cure” led the survivors out to their Survivor Parade with cowbells and raced a short distance before a fun run/walk. Clevenger said the idea was to make the children feel more involved.
It was the third year for the “I AM THE CURE” program, another activity involving children, Clevenger said. For this program children learn various facts about breast cancer in a class and then walk the race informing others, she said.
There are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States with nearly 200,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer expected to occur among women in 2008, according to a race pamphlet.
Seventy-five percent of the money raised at the race will stay in the Wabash Valley to help serve the 11 counties in the Wabash Valley Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s service area. The other 25 percent of proceeds will go to the national Komen program to fund research, Clevenger said.
Final numbers for the amount raised on race day were not available, but $2,000 of donations were collected on top of registration fees. Of that, at least $1,400 was raised by “Mary’s Rack Pack” from people who couldn’t attend the race, but wanted to help, Taylor said.
One thing was sure, Mary’s pack did stand out.
“I’ve had a few people tell me I have a big rack,” Mary said, “and I said, ‘No, I just have a big pack.’”
Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
Related Links
Discussion
Friends, family, patients and survivors Race for a Cure
About 90 percent of participants in Race are part of a team
- Local & Bistate
-
- UPDATE: Marshall, Ill., school bus driver involved in accident dies; cause appears to be cardiac-related
-
Terre Haute road name game
What used to be called U.S. 40 from the Wabash River west through West Terre Haute to Interstate 70 needs to be renamed and, probably, get new street addresses, a Vigo County planner recommends.
-
MARK BENNETT: William Henry Harrison taught us how to campaign
William Henry Harrison is running for president, again.
It seems impossible, because today would be his 239th birthday, and America has never elected a deceased person to the Oval Office. -
Air National Guard cuts won’t hit 181st Intelligence Wing
The Air National Guard is taking the lion’s share of planned cuts announced last week by the U.S. Air Force. But no cuts are currently expected at Terre Haute’s 181st Intelligence Wing. In fact, the nation’s evolving defense strategy may spell growth at the local base.
-
Friends group takes over Ernie Pyle home in Dana
The western Indiana home in which renowned Hoosier journalist Ernie Pyle was born and an adjacent museum dedicated to preserving his legacy as a World War II correspondent have a new owner.
-
ISU rec center pool out of service while being repaired
Indiana State University is spending about $10,000 to repair a swimming pool at the Student Recreation Center, which opened in 2009.
-
Clinton man throws away, then recovers, $50,000 ticket
A Vermillion County man found himself in a scenario that strikes fear in the heart of Lottery players everywhere. He threw away a $50,000 winning ticket.
-
Show to feature talents of artists with disabilities
Artists whose disabilities have overshadowed their work get a chance to shine in the light of a prodigy this coming month.
-
Fort Wayne forester tells of damage
The emerald ash borer likely will cause as much as $8 million in damage to Fort Wayne’s ash trees by 2015, the city’s manager of forestry operations told a Terre Haute audience Tuesday.
-
Unclaimed assets now part of Goodwill auction site
Many of Indiana’s unclaimed assets are now on Goodwill’s online auction site, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced Tuesday.
-
Toyota to increase Highlander output in Indiana
Toyota will increase production of the Highlander mid-size SUV in late 2013 at the company’s Princeton, Indiana plant. Hybrid and export versions will be included. The project is expected to create about 400 new jobs at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana Inc.
-
Friends of Ernie Pyle takes ownership, renames Dana museum
The western Indiana home in which renowned Hoosier journalist Ernie Pyle was born, and an adjacent museum dedicated to preserving his legacy as a World War II correspondent, have a new owner.
-
Spreading Goodwill
Goodwill Industries Inc. on Tuesday opened its third Terre Haute store.
-
Feds sending money to Feather Creek
Clinton residents have reason to celebrate.
Federal officials have granted more than $800,000 toward a $1.2 million project of widening and deepening Feather Creek, which has been a flooding problem in the city since the Great Depression. Work could begin in spring 2013. -
City to clean up Toney site
A contaminated petroleum site at the northwestern edge of Indiana State University’s campus will be transferred to the city of Terre Haute to remove the property from a pending sale.
-
Bennett: Terre Haute ‘moving in the right direction’
After four years of shrinking budgets and a slow economy, Terre Haute is “moving in the right direction,” Mayor Duke Bennett said Tuesday morning in his first “State of the City” address since being re-elected by Terre Haute voters in November.
Difficult financial and political battles are largely in the past, he said, and now the city can start moving forward in ways not possible in the past four years. -
Terre Haute group locates missing caver
An Iraq war veteran and caving enthusiast took his own life about half a mile from where he left his car on a rural road but more than four months passed before four young spelunkers exploring where they weren’t allowed found him deep inside a treacherous cave, Indiana conservation officers said Tuesday.
-
Schools celebrate rising graduation rates as ‘team effort’
For the fourth year in a row, Vigo County School Corp. graduation rates have topped the state average, school district officials said during a news conference Tuesday.
-
Arrested officer already on administrative leave
A summons to appear in Vigo Superior Court 1 has been issued to the former police chief of West Terre Haute after a theft case filed Monday was transferred from a different court.
-
Parade to honor Punter for N.Y. Giants
A parade has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday to honor Terre Haute native Steve Weatherford, a punter with the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
-
DNA match leads to arrest in summer burglary
A recent DNA match in an Indiana database has led to the arrest of a burglary suspect by the Indiana State Police at Putnamville.
-
Authorities still looking into Monday shooting of teen
Investigation continues into a shooting Monday in the 600 block of Water Street, which is near the Wabash River on the city’s west side.
-
General Assembly ready to tackle legislative bottleneck
After a timeout to accommodate out-of-town Super Bowl visitors, the Indiana General Assembly is back in session to tackle legislation that had been bottlenecked by a contentious labor bill.
-
Shakeout helps prepare for earthquake
Drop. Cover. Hold on! Those are the directives for the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut, a multi-state earthquake drill that happened Tuesday morning.
-
Website offers Valley health assessment
• The Wabash Valley Community Health Needs Assessment can be accessed at www.terrehautechamber.com.
It also can be found on the websites of both hospitals. -
Bolte Taylor exhibit will feature 5-foot-tall brains
An Indiana brain scientist whose memoir about her recovery from a stroke became a best-seller has dreamed up an exhibit featuring giant brains that will be mounted around Bloomington this spring.
-
Feather Creek project gets green light from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Federal officials have granted the funding needed to widen Feather Creek in Clinton.
-
Lost Creek trustee exploring possibility of providing computer lab for residents
A mobile computer lab has come to the Lost Creek Township Trustee’s Office to assist the public in job searches and applying for assistance programs.
-
Vigo schools see grad rate rise
The Vigo County School Corp. 2011 graduation rate improved nearly 4 percentage points and surpassed the state graduation rate, according to information from the state Department of Education.
-
Among Super Bowl ads, the stars were the cars
Lots of dogs and babies appeared in commercial advertisements for Super Bowl XLVI, but game-day ads also increasingly are pointing to social media handles, such as Twitter and Facebook.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Video of Ga. Man Who Killed Girl Released
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Foreclosures Down 34 Percent in 2011
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Androgynous Model Walks Runway As Man and Woman
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate'
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
Lady Gaga's Battle With Bulimia
Evacuation at Sea
SJP Talks About Replacing Demi Moore in 'Lovelace'
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
Osama Bin Laden Zombie Movie: "Osombie" Teaser Released
Thomas' moratorium: 'I'm out, peace'
VS Model Quits Over Religion
NASCAR Drive for Diversity
Khloe Kardashian Responds to O.J. Rumors
Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week 2012
SportsTalk Live: Most hated athletes - 2/8
Louis Vuitton Condoms?!
Tiger Woods 13: Legacy mode
Michelle Obama vs. Jimmy Fallon
Buffalo Barges Into Car
