SCRANTON, Pa. -- Northeastern Pennsylvania's Race for the Cure in Scranton is a day like no other. Downtown completely transforms pink, every storefront on Courthouse Square glows with support for survivors, and more than 4,000 people walk and run to find a cure for breast cancer.
"Well, I've got four sisters. We're all survivors," said Cathy Powell.
Powell is a 38-year survivor and actually a double survivor, beating cancer twice. She feels good now, walking again this year like she has every year for the last two decades.
"Everything's great," Powell said. She says meeting new people, and especially other survivors, is her favorite part of the race.
Devin Smith of Carbondale beat his own personal record and took first place for the men. Caitlin Gaughan of Dalton won for the women.
"I'm actually wearing a ribbon for my childhood best friend who passed away from cancer. This type of race, it's more than just winning it. It's about honoring those who are fighting the battle, who aren't with us here today, or those who have survived," Gaughan said.
This year's race winners say seeing the sea of pink gives them the energy to keep going.
"It gives me hope. Cancer is one of those things that happens. There's not much you can do about it other than support the cause as much as you can," Smith said.
The goal this year is to raise $200,000. That's the highest goal they've ever had. If you couldn't walk or run in the race, it's not too late to donate, you have until October 1.
"Everyone's decked out in their pink, but the important thing is that it's more than pink, and that's our slogan these days," said Race for the Cure Chair Nikki Olszyk.
This is the 28th annual Race for the Cure in Scranton, and organizers say they have such a big goal because they have so much support from the community, and the money raised goes right back to the community.
75 percent of what is raised stays here and helps fund local programs offering breast cancer health education and breast cancer screening and treatment. The remaining 25 percent goes toward Susan G. Komen research and training grant programs.
"It's about doing more and being more, and that's part of making donations and promoting the race for the cure and supporting it as much as we can, so we can truly make an impact in our community and in research," Olszyk said.
WNEP is a proud sponsor of the race and proud to help find a cure. Newswatch 16's Jon Meyer and Mindi Ramsey hosted the event, and as always, there were some other familiar faces in the crowd including John Hickey, Carmella Mataloni, Jessica Albert, Chase Senior, Sharla McBride, and Scott Schaffer.