The Race isn’t the only cure in town – rowers and paddlers take to the Willamette Sept. 18 in the fight against breast cancer

Row for the Cure® has grown from its Rose City roots to a four-city national event

Third-party events contribute over $650,000 annually to local Komen affiliate

PORTLAND, Ore, Aug. 29, 2005 – While an estimated 40,000 runners and walkers take to the streets of Portland Sunday, Sept. 18 in the fight against breast cancer, Portland’s rowers, canoeists and dragon boaters will take to the Willamette River for a race of their own.

Row for the Cure®, which was conceived in 1994 by Portland rower Kathy Frederick, has grown to a four-city national event raising some $295,000 in the fight against breast cancer.  Beginning at 8:30am runners, walkers and spectators can watch over 200 water sports enthusiasts compete on the Willamette in the 5,000 meter rowing, paddling and dragon boat event that occurs simultaneously with Race for the Cure®. 

Row for the Cure® races run until 10:30am and start from the old fire boat dock on the Eastbank Esplanade.  Competitors will row and paddle down river for just over a mile then return upriver to the finish line at the Portland Spirit dock.  The Row is one of 25 third-party events that take place each year raising over $650,000 for the Oregon and SW Washington Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

At the conclusion of the regatta, to honor breast cancer survivors and those that have lost the battle with the disease, the City of Portland’s fireboat will shoot a stream of environmentally safe pink water high into the air near the Willamette River finish line.  In another on-water tribute, in the week leading up to the Race and the Row, the Portland Spirit will fly pink nautical burgees to honor those who have been touched by breast cancer.

“Our hope is that runners, walkers and spectators look to the Willamette during Sunday’s Race and see that their efforts have inspired our boating community to help fight breast cancer,” said  Frederick who started Row for the Cure® as a way to unite other Portland groups to help combat the disease.  “When we started Row for the Cure® twelve years ago, our hope was to support the Race with energy from the boating community and to inspire rowers in other cities to work with their local Komen affiliate to put on a regatta.”

Row for Cure® has since taken off in Seattle, Philadelphia and Dayton, Ohio raising over $295,000 for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  Locally, the regatta has raised over $98,000 since 1994.   “We see so much creativity of groups in our community taking on third-party fundraisers like Row for the Cure®,” said Christine McDonald, Executive Director of the Oregon and SW Washington Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.   “The growth of Portland’s Row for the Cure® into a national event is an inspiration.  It’s not just whether you walk or run, it’s how far your imagination will take you that makes a difference in the fight against breast cancer.”

Rowers, and canoe/kayak paddlers can register for the regatta by visiting http://www.stationlrowingclub.com/pages/rftc.html.  Canoe/Kayak rentals are available at a discount from Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe (www.aldercreek.com) located at the Portland Boat House, 49 SE Clay (corner of SE Water and SE Clay) near the Eastbank Esplanade.

About Row for the Cure®
Row for the Cure® benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is in its 12th year and annually attracts over 750 participants and 200 volunteers from the rowing, canoe/kayak and dragon boat communities in the United States.  Since Portland, Ore. hosted the first Row for the Cure® in 1994, the regatta has grown to a four-city event in Portland, Seattle, Philadelphia and Dayton, Ohio raising over $295,000 in the fight to eradicate breast cancer as a life threatening disease.  Portland Row for the Cure® is made possible through generous contributions from Ether Shoes, Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe, Arbonne International Swiss Skin Care Products, New Seasons Market, Sun Glass Hut, Masters Rowing Association, Portland Spirit Dinner Tours, Portland Fire Bureau, Multnomah County Sheriff River Patrol, United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, RegattaCentral, and Matt Trujillo Digital Photography and Design.

About the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was established in 1982 by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. Today, the Foundation is an international organization with a network of more than 75,000 volunteers working through local Affiliates and events like the Komen Race for the Cure® to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. A global leader in the fight against breast cancer, the Foundation fulfills its mission through support of innovative breast cancer research grants, meritorious awards and educational, scientific and community outreach programs around the world. Together with its Affiliate Network, corporate partners and generous donors, the Komen Foundation has raised nearly $600 million for the fight against breast cancer.

Who Race for the Cure® participants and spectators, rowers, canoe/kayak enthusiasts, dragon boat paddlers, and public spectators.

What 12th Annual Row for the Cure® regatta, a 5,000 meter rowing, canoe/kayak and dragon boat regatta benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  Portland was the birthplace of Row for the Cure® in 1994.

Row for the Cure® is a “third-party” event, meaning it is organized completely through the volunteer help of an organization other than the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  Twenty five third party events contributed $650,000 in 2004-05 to the Susan G. Komen Oregon, SW Washington Affiliate

Where Row for the Cure® begins near the old fire boat dock on the Eastbank Esplanade.  Competitors will row and paddle down river for just over a mile then return upriver to the finish line at the Portland Spirit dock in Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

When 8:30 am, to 10:30 am, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2005

Why To help eradicate breast cancer as a life threatening disease.  Proceeds from each Row for the Cure® benefit the local affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, where 75 percent of the money raised stays in the community for education and treatment of breast cancer; the remaining 25 percent of monies raised support national breast cancer research projects.

Registration Rowers and paddlers can register for the regatta by visiting http://www.stationlrowingclub.com/pages/rftc.html