Racing and Curing: Labconco's Race for the Cure Tradition

By Adam Keithley, Vice President of Marketing

On September 29, 2016 in Blog

What does tradition feel like? I’ve come to the age where I think a lot about traditions in my life… the things that my parents, my sisters and I ALWAYS did when I was a kid, those things that built anticipation when I knew the calendar was closing in, the memories that remained afterwards, the joy we share now talking about those times in the past. I think about things my own family does now that I hope are creating joyous memories for my own children.

I think about participating in the Race for the Cure as part of the Labconco Team over the past 5-6 years and what an absolute treasure chest of memories it holds for me. I’m blessed to be part of a company who values giving back to our community and also fosters a way for those of us who desire to do so, the ability to work together as a team in that act of giving back. Whether the Labconco Team is running in the race or working at the water station to serve H₂O to weary runners, we are doing it together, as a team, just like everything else we do at Labconco. 

What a rush. What a ride. What a thrill. What a joy. What a pleasure it is to work with such great people every day and then hang out with them on an early Sunday morning to set up Water Station #3.

Diane Williamson, our unwavering leader for this event every year since we started participating, had us whipped into shape bright and early. Our station was set up, cups arranged, laid out, prepped, filled and layered with ample time to spare. She has turned this into a world-class serving system and conducts herself with class and grace, just like she does with our customers each and every day. 

Every Labconco team member who was there that morning served the racers with the same level of highest-tier service that I witness every day in our office environment as they go about serving our “paying customers.” You could hear it in their voices as they evaluated the race route on the map, as they tried to determine the best way to lay out the serving tables and the best places for us to stand to get the most water to the most runners in the least amount of time—without hampering the stride and pace of the runners. They even evaluated the optimal way to lay out the trash bins to leave the smallest amount of litter on the streets after we were done.

I’m thrilled just to have been there and to be part of a group of people who are truly there to serve to the best of their ability. It is more than just “Meh, I’m here to toss some cups of water at people.” They are there to give from their heart… above and beyond.

You never know what you’re going to get when it comes to race day weather. Welcome to the Midwest. We’ve had race mornings that were cold and rainy (which makes it very hard to give away water, let me tell you from experience), and mornings like we had this year, when we are a bit on the warmer side… with a water station on the sunny side of the race route, on the incline of a hill. I guess that made us the luckiest water station on the route because we were everyone’s best friends that morning. They were all glad to see us and very glad to accept our cups of dihydrogen monoxide.

Once the race kicks into high gear and the pace runners have zoomed past us at their 4-minute mile pace, the masses of people start to descend upon us and it really starts hopping. It’s amazing how quickly 10,000 people can go by, but it is so fun to engage with the runners, have fun with them as they enjoy race day and the costumes that dot the race route, cheer with those who cheer, chant with those who chant, sing with those who sing. We didn’t have the pleasure of being near a live band this year, so thankfully we had a Bluetooth speaker nearby to pump tunes from an iPod for us. It kept us jamming for the whole morning.

Race for the Cure is such a fun event. I'm proud of my family that participates with me, and to be a part of the tradition that it has become. They have a great time joining in and being a part of something with my larger Labconco family, all together for a great cause on a great day. We look forward to it every year, and already I cannot wait for next year.

I want my pink Cart for the Cure

Cart for the Cure is a special, limited edition model of our popular Portable Table laboratory cart. It has all the great features of our standard Portable Table, except the 18 gauge welded tubular steel frame boasts the official Breast Cancer Awareness pink color! For three months a year, from September through November, Cart for the Cure is sold at $100 off, and for each one sold, Labconco will donate $50.00 to the St. Luke's Foundation to help provide free mammograms to women who can't afford them.