Volleyball Team Joins Race for Cure

By Chris Wolfgang

It began as a team-bonding activity. “We tend to live inside a little bubble at AU. It’s important to get outside that sometimes,” said Tami Miller, head coach for Anderson University’s women’s volleyball team. So she asked her team to participate in the Race for the Cure in Indianapolis on April 24. “Well, not exactly asked,” Miller corrected with a smile. “More like strongly suggested. Almost told.”

The Race for the Cure is held around the world at different times during the year to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and to educate the public about early detection.

While the running was expected, the fundraising was not. “It’s a difficult age to be fundraising at,” said Miller. “Everyone they know has either already helped them out a lot financially or is as strapped for cash as they are.” However, together the team raised more than $900.

This year was a trial run for the event as a part of the team’s annual schedule. Miller said that while she wanted the girls to be aware of what breast cancer means, she would not push the race again if it hadn’t had an impact on the team.

For sophomore Lacey Heaton at least, the impact was huge.

“It was an awesome experience. My friend’s aunt is a cancer survivor, so she and I went an hour early to watch her in the Pink Parade.” The two girls watched as multitudes of women, from one-year survivors to 50-year survivors, participated in the parade honoring those who had survived the cancer. “You could tell they were so proud to have beaten it, to have overcome it. Wearing their pink shirts and feather boas and hats … it was incredible.”

Running is a large part of the team’s spring training, so according to Miller, no special conditioning was needed for the 5K race.

Heaton said the race was still a challenge. The thought of the cancer victims was what made them keep running when they wanted to slow down during the race.

Miller has run the race for three years. For her, the Race for the Cure is particularly relevant because her mother, Joy Miller, is a breast cancer survivor. Miller participates in the event with her mother, sister, sister-in-law and two nieces. “It’s very much a family thing.”

Besides bringing the team to together, the race also showed Miller’s team how they can impact the community.

“Athletics has a dominant role in today’s society,” Miller explained. “I want these girls to be positive role models. I want this team to have a positive portrait, even outside of Anderson.”