On Saturday morning, 12 September 2009, thousands of runners lined up in New York City for the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure", a 5-kilometer run designed to raise money for breast cancer prevention, awareness and treatment.
As the race kicked off in New York's Central Park at 9 AM Eastern Standard Time, Captain Erica Feola, a US Army flight surgeon for the 6th Squadron-6th Air Cavalry Regiment, began the race as well. Except Captain Feola was seven time zones ahead of the rest of the runners, running the 5-kilometer race within the confines of Forward Operating Base Warrior in Kirkuk, Iraq.
A number of Captain Feola's friends and family volunteered to sponsor her; in fact, she raised over $500 through an application on her Facebook page. Additionally, Captain Feola amassed another $500 worth of donations after I posted an article on Small Wars Journal last month, for a total of just over $1000 (edit: as I have later found out, only a portion of that additional $500 came from SWJ).
This is yet another example of how the new media shapes nearly every facet of our daily lives.
Captain Feola and a few other Army officers braved a sandstorm and temperatures over 105° F (41° C) in order to participate in the race. They were clad in standard Army physical fitness uniforms, albeit with pink reflector belts in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (click picture to enlarge and note Capt. Feola's belt on the left).
Thanks to all in the SWJ community who helped to make this possible!
3 comments:
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 09/15/2009 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
Way to go Dr. Feola & Colleagues! What a way to show support for awareness of a global issue.
Great job, Doc, and all those involved. And further on the topic of breast cancer awareness, I invite you to check out this video -- ahamoment.com/pg/moments/view/6789 -- about a remarkable woman's "aha moment" that led her to walk around the world for the cause. Literally. It's a wonderful story, and it's about a lot more than breast cancer. I know you'll find it extremely inspiring.
All the best,
jack@ahamoment.com
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