Long May We Roar

From 2009 through 2018, Sue's Crew rumbled, stumbled, and bumbled our way through a breast cancer-related 5K.  Sue's Crew was/is a tremendous example of something terrific arising out of something awful.  In our case, the "something awful" was the June 2, 2009 death of Susie B., Margaret's mom.   By the time we made it to 2017, the names of two other heroes, Diana Kizis (a/k/a "Hazel") and Mom (a/k/a "Joanie K.") joined Susie B.'s on our official race shirt. 

Susie B. 

June 2, 2009

Diana Kizis (a/k/a "Hazel")

June 6, 2014

Joanie K. (a/k/a "Mom")

June 3, 2017 

A few weeks ago, an e-mail popped up in my in-box for the 4th Annual Team ROAR 5K at Duke Island Park in Bridgewater.  In the interest of full disclosure, I am constrained to admit that until I saw the e-mail I had never heard of the event, let alone the fact that it was its fourth annual edition.  As is often the case, my lack of familiarity with it was my loss.  It is an extraordinary event.  Its genesis is the far-too-young death from metastatic breast cancer in 2017 of Donna Karlis.  She was only forty-two years old.   

Sunday was simply a gorgeous late October day.   Duke Island Park, as it turns out, is a beautiful place to run.  Whether it was the weather, the underlying purpose of the race (raising money for metastatic breast cancer research), or something else altogether I know not.  All I know is that I ran the best 5K time I had run in more than four years.  The Missus and I represented Sue's Crew and had a great, great morning.  

We retired Sue's Crew after its tenth edition (or "X"th edition for all you Roman numeral fans out there) in 2018.  If we are to revitalize it, and restore it to active status in 2023, then I believe Margaret and I found the event in which to do it.   

-AK