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The Week in Germany: Current Affairs

June 8, 2007

The German Embassy Team Makes a Splash at the Race for the Cure

The German Embassy Team included runners and walkers who came out to make the day a fun family affair. Three German flags were held up high in the air throughout the Race for the Cure, proving tiresome but not impossible for the proud flag-bearers. Photos: German Embassy Staff

They came, they walked, they ran: The German Embassy Team supported breast cancer research at the 18th annual Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure in Washington on June 2.

The German team gathered at an international tent set up to welcome a total of 36 participating embassies. "It was really remarkable to arrive at the National Mall on an early Saturday morning, when the city is normally quite calm, and to see narrow processions of people streaming from all directions to blend into one central gathering place teeming with life," said one teammate.

Washington DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Michelle Fenty acted as local honorary chairs. "Don't beat the mayor!" Fenty, 36, an experienced runner, proclaimed in an opening greeting to the masses before the start of the race.

More than 50,000 participants from across the country, including more than 3,000 breast cancer survivors, came together at the 5K fund-raising event.

Aspiring young diplomats: Interns posted to the German Embassy in Washington also took part in the Race for the Cure and proudly donned the new German Embassy Team T-shirt (at right).

The first Komen Race for the Cure was held in 1983 in Dallas with 800 participants. Today, 1.5 million people annually participate in more than 100 Komen Race for the Cure events around the globe. Since its inception, Komen has invested nearly $1 billion in cancer research and community programs, including funding breast cancer research grants to 43 institutions in 13 countries outside of the United States.

Komen has international affiliates in Germany, Italy and Puerto Rico and sponsors Komen Race for the Cure events in Frankfurt, Rome and San Juan. The Frankfurt race first took place in 2000 and drew more than 4,000 participants last year. The next race is taking place on Sept. 30, 2007, along the German financial capital's Museumsufer, or "museum shoreline", next to the Main River.

At the National Race for the Cure last Saturday, members of the German Embassy Team donned T-shirts designed by the German Information Center USA specifically for the event and waved three big German flags as they headed for the finish line. The websites for the Race for the Cure (www.nationalraceforthecure.org) and the German Embassy (www.germanyinfo.org) are prominently flagged up on the T-shirt, which will be used for years to come. Advertisements citing both websites also aired for a week during the run-up to the race on local public broadcaster WETA.

"I held up our flag the entire time, and my arm survived, in the end," said German Information Center USA Director Stefan Möbs. "It was great when we came round the bend that brought us back towards the end of the race and were running directly parallel to those behind us - lots of people chanted 'Go Germany!' when they saw the German flag coming towards them - the reception was very warm and welcoming, and we all had a great time."

The German Embassy Team waves goodbye - until next year!

Links:

The Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure

Komen Deutschland Race for the Cure (in German)

WETA

The German Embassy Team Supports the Race for the Cure
(TWIG, May 25, 2007)

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