Especially for You race returns as in-person event in Cedar Rapids this weekend

CEDAR RAPIDS — After an non-traditional year because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Mercy Medical Center’s annual Especially for You Race Against Breast Cancer is back on the street — and not just online only

The 31st annual 5K walk and run is scheduled to take place Sunday as an in-person event, returning crowds to the streets of Cedar Rapids after last year’s event was held virtually. So far, about 12,500 people have registered to participate, said Jeff Decker, the Especially for You director. Organizers hope additional registrations on race day will bump the total to more than 13,000.

With new coronavirus precautions in place — including staggered start times and no post-race celebration — Decker warns participants that the 2021 race will be different from typical years.

“We’re just asking for everyone’s cooperation as they come to the race site,” Decker said. “It is going to be different.”

When making the decision whether to move forward with an in-person event, Decker said the organizers have been in close communication with partners in Mercy and with local public health officials.

"In the lead-up to Labor Day, they had felt comfortable we were going to reach peak and be on the downside by the time the event happened,“ Decker said.

But in the past several weeks, new cases have surged again as the highly contagious delta variant spreads. Individuals will still have the option to participate in the race virtually, meaning they can run or walk on their own time around the neighborhood, on a treadmill or any location of their choice.

Proceeds from the annual event go to the Especially for You fund, which provides financial assistance to offer mammograms, ultrasounds, biopsies and other breast-care and gynecological cancer screenings and services to individuals in need. Between 12,000 to 14,000 individuals register for the race per year, raising roughly $400,000 annually.

To date, more than 11,000 individuals have accessed more than 26,000 services through the Especially for You fund, according to officials.

Though the event typically draws at least 12,000 registrations, only about 10,000 signed up for last year’s virtual-only race, raising about $296,000.

The drop in proceeds did not impact the fund’s ability to finance these services. However, Decker noted, officials have also seen a drop in individuals seeking cancer screenings.

Doctors locally and across Iowa have noted a similar trend since the pandemic began here in March 2020, prompting concern the disease may be progressing in some individuals undetected.

The desire to boost the message to residents about the importance of those cancer screenings was a key factor in the decision to host an in-person event, Decker said.

“With this event, what we try to do is get message out about maintaining those screenings. It was hard to do virtually,” Decker said. “By getting back into an in-person setting, it helps us really communicate the importance of those annual screenings.”

Coronavirus safety at race

To limit the number of individuals congregating together and to encourage social distancing, racers will go in three waves from the starting line, located near the Hall-Perrine Cancer Center on the intersection of 10th Street and Fifth Avenue SE. The waves of racers will be sent out at 8, 8:30 and 9 a.m.

Decker said organizers hope sending out a third of the participants at a time will ensure racers are spread out throughout the racecourse. Masks will be required at the start and the finish lines.

In addition, Decker said they will not take the traditional large group photo with breast cancer survivors attending this weekend’s event. Instead, organizers will set up a photo backdrop for individuals or groups to take their own.

Organizers also will forgo the pancake breakfast, the typical post-race celebration. There instead will be limited activities at the finish in Greene Square in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Comments: (319) 398-8469; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com