Road race to fight breast cancer Sunday

Heather Bolster knows the importance of breast cancer screenings. If her mother hadn’t been examined when she was, she might not have made it.

“Chances are, it wouldn’t have been found until it was too late,” Bolster said.

On Sunday, hundreds will raise money and awareness for breast cancer screenings and research by participating in the Race for the Cure, sponsored by the Coeur d’Alene affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

The race has raised more than $600,000 in the past seven years for breast cancer education and screenings for uninsured women, said Bolster, the race chairwoman. Seventy-five percent of the money stays in the five North Idaho counties, she said.

The race was started to raise money to help uninsured women after supporters noticed there were no such services in North Idaho.

“There was no funding for any type of mammogram screening,” Bolster said. As her mother’s case shows, “early detection is key,” she said.

The 5-kilometer race will begin Sunday at 10 a.m. in front of the North Idaho College student union building. A 1-mile run for families will begin shortly after.

Raffle prizes and information booths will be set up near the start and finish lines. Registration is $30 at the race or $20 before Sunday. Children 11 and under may enter for $10.

Pick up race packets starting at 8 a.m. Sunday at the starting line, or get one Saturday at the NIC student union building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Our mission is to rid the world of breast cancer,” Bolster said.