TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - The Northwest Ohio Race for the Cure operations team says setting up for the race takes hours of hard work, with not a lot of sleep. But the crew is so positive because it's all for the race - the participants, supporters, and of course, to find a cure for breast cancer.
A moving truck sat outside Brondes Ford Lincoln dealer in Maumee Saturday evening. Boxes upon boxes were loaded into the back. Crews were switching from Findlay's race, to Toledo's.
"The operations team is responsible for making sure the race gets set up and tore down on time, making sure everything is where it's supposed to be," says Adam Jackson, operations chair.
Jackson says the truck has race essentials, like shirts, banners, and tables. "Everything that we need to make sure we can set up a race properly," said Jackson.
On this day it was all going to Toledo to be set up very, very early Sunday morning. "Organized chaos is the best way to describe it because at around 2 a.m. we actually get to downtown Toledo and we start stetting up. We have our tents going up by then, and we need to make sure that by about 5:30/6a.m. we have everything in place for our sponsors to come in," said Jackson. "Set the survivor tent up, and about 11 a.m. after everything's said and done, we start tearing it all down."
Although it's hard work, Jackson says it's all worth it to give people like Kelly Curran a chance to race for the cure. "People all over town I've been talking with today have just been telling me to get excited because, you know, it's a really emotional day, but a really exciting day as well, since it is an important cause and a serious issue, but also a celebration," said Kelly.
Kelly is walking for the first time in Toledo's Race for the Cure with and for her mom Kit Curran, who was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. Toledo's race was run in celebration of Kit. Kelly says she hopes people on the fence about coming out will join the event.
"Breast cancer has touched so many lives, most people know someone impacted by breast cancer, so this is a really great opportunity to show them that they care, and show them that they're behind them, you know, supportive, and just raise money for a really important cause," said Kelly.
Race for the Cure: Behind the scenes
The Northwest Ohio Race for the Cure operations team says setting up for the race takes hours of hard work, with not a lot of sleep. But the crew is so positive because it's all for the race - the participants, supporters, and of course, to find a cure for breast cancer. A moving truck sat outside Brondes