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Local cross country teams compete for a good cause
By MIKE TENNEY
There will be more than 1,000 teams, both big and small, running and walking for a great cause Saturday morning when the 18th annual Susan G. Komen Houston Race For the Cure event is held, and at least six local cross country squads will be among them.
The St. John’s, Kinkaid, and Episcopal boys and girls cross country teams will be among the nearly 30,000 expected to help raise money
for continued research into breast cancer.
The Komen fund is dedicated to curing the deadly disease at every stage from the causes to the cure to the anxiety of every minute in between.
“My boys participate in it because it’s a great cause,” said St. John’s School head coach Richie Mercado, whose wife Brenda Mercado, who works at the school, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. “They do great work and it is a little more personal for us now. So we’re glad to be a part of it.”
He added the school has had five different women that work there diagnosed with the disease in just the last two years.
“It’s hitting close to home no question about it,” said Mercado. “It’s a disease we’ve got to work as hard as we can to stop.”
Episcopal High School has been a part of the Houston Race For the Cure since its inception in 1991, and head cross country coach Dick Phillips says his kids always enjoy the feeling of accomplishment with first raising money and then joining the large crowd for the event.
“I think at one time we were the largest participant in the Race for the Cure,” he said. “I know our school has always been heavily, heavily involved in it and our kids always work very hard to race money for it. Without a doubt, it’s a wonderful cause.”
There are three different parts to the event with an 8 a.m. Family Walk/Kids 1-K (half-mile) walk starting the morning off.
There will also be an 8:20 a.m. 5-K (3.1-miles) timed competitive race and an 8:30 a.m. 5-K noncompetitive run. The competitive race will begin and end on Allen Parkway at the I-45 Pedestrian bridge.
Different coaches have different approaches to the event as far as the running part goes.
St. John’s, for example, will be in the non-competitive run while the Episcopal teams will be in the timed races.
“For us it’s more of a noncompetitive thing,” said Mercado. “It’s more of a charity thing than anything. We’ll get back to the competitive races after the Race for the Cure.”
“We’re taking it as our next meet,” said Phillips, whose boys team won its first cross country meet in a long time last Saturday at Houston Christian. “We’re planning on running in the 5-K and trying to continue to run our best times. I know that the event itself is so much more than just a race, but it’s on the schedule as our next meet and we’re treating it as such.”
The St. John’s, Kinkaid, and Episcopal boys and girls cross country teams will be among the nearly 30,000 expected to help raise money
for continued research into breast cancer.
The Komen fund is dedicated to curing the deadly disease at every stage from the causes to the cure to the anxiety of every minute in between.
“My boys participate in it because it’s a great cause,” said St. John’s School head coach Richie Mercado, whose wife Brenda Mercado, who works at the school, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. “They do great work and it is a little more personal for us now. So we’re glad to be a part of it.”
He added the school has had five different women that work there diagnosed with the disease in just the last two years.
“It’s hitting close to home no question about it,” said Mercado. “It’s a disease we’ve got to work as hard as we can to stop.”
Episcopal High School has been a part of the Houston Race For the Cure since its inception in 1991, and head cross country coach Dick Phillips says his kids always enjoy the feeling of accomplishment with first raising money and then joining the large crowd for the event.
“I think at one time we were the largest participant in the Race for the Cure,” he said. “I know our school has always been heavily, heavily involved in it and our kids always work very hard to race money for it. Without a doubt, it’s a wonderful cause.”
There are three different parts to the event with an 8 a.m. Family Walk/Kids 1-K (half-mile) walk starting the morning off.
There will also be an 8:20 a.m. 5-K (3.1-miles) timed competitive race and an 8:30 a.m. 5-K noncompetitive run. The competitive race will begin and end on Allen Parkway at the I-45 Pedestrian bridge.
Different coaches have different approaches to the event as far as the running part goes.
St. John’s, for example, will be in the non-competitive run while the Episcopal teams will be in the timed races.
“For us it’s more of a noncompetitive thing,” said Mercado. “It’s more of a charity thing than anything. We’ll get back to the competitive races after the Race for the Cure.”
“We’re taking it as our next meet,” said Phillips, whose boys team won its first cross country meet in a long time last Saturday at Houston Christian. “We’re planning on running in the 5-K and trying to continue to run our best times. I know that the event itself is so much more than just a race, but it’s on the schedule as our next meet and we’re treating it as such.”
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