Heroes come in many shapes and sizes. This is not a new concept or expression, but one that we saw personified firsthand at our 4^thAnnual Lemon Run that was held this past Sunday, November 12.

A quick note about The Lemon Run…it was a huge success and we thank everyone who came out and supported us. It’s hard to believe but with more than 2,000 participants – it’s the largest Foundation event to date. Better yet, we raised more than $200,000 for childhood cancer research. This funds an entire ALSF two-year research grant to some of the best and brightest scientists in the field. 

Back to our heroes…most of you reading this know that here at Alex’s, we refer to our heroes as our childhood cancer heroes. This term represents kids currently fighting cancer, those in remission and those we have lost to the disease. These children are our heroes because of the courage and bravery that they emanate while fighting a disease that even the toughest of adults should never have to endure. 

Our heroes and hero families are an integral part of The Lemon Run. Not only do they comprise a significant number of our participants, often by way of the number of large teams that they assemble, but they also provide inspiration to everyone at the run and tangible proof of why it’s so important to support childhood cancer research.  

 Race day commenced with our Kids’ Dash, which consists of kids under the age of 10 dashing 100 meters to be the first to reach the finish. It’s not only adorable, but incredibly meaningful as many of the kids running or toddling toward the finish line are wearing t-shirts supporting a sibling, relative or friend who is a childhood cancer hero. Kids helping kids…it’s what we’re all about. 

Then it was time to showcase our heroes as along with their family members, the kids took to the pavement and kicked off the actual 5K. For some of these children, the fact that they can take a few steps, let alone run a few meters is an enormous accomplishment. It puts everything into perspective for the runners and suddenly finishing the fastest doesn’t seem so important anymore. Finally, the starting gun fired and the throngs of runners and walkers took off to complete the scenic 5K (3.1 mile) course throughout Fairmount Park.

It's so fun to watch everyone cross the finish line and see the sense of accomplishment (or maybe relief!) they feel as they finish with plenty of  supporters cheering them on. However on Sunday, one runner in particular caught everyone’s eye reminding us that our childhood cancer heroes weren’t the only symbols of valor on the course. Joe Shinn, a firefighter from the Woolwich, New Jersey firehouse ran the entire 5K in all of his gear. And as you can see from the photo, we’re not kidding when we say ALL of his gear from his hat, to an oxygen tank on his back, down to his boots that we can’t imagine were the best in terms of orthopedic support. And why did Joe run the entire course without stopping on a balmy November day in full gear? Because he was inspired by one of our heroes Mario Carpino, an energetic 9-year-old who has been fighting brain cancer for the past five years and aspires to be a firefighter when he grows up. Joe thought that being uncomfortable and hot for 3.1 miles was the least he could do to show his support for what Mario and other kids with cancer have to endure on a daily basis.

Two different kinds of heroes inspiring each other truly embodies what Alex set out to do when she held that first lemonade stand. We couldn’t think of a better way to capture the spirit of the great day and what we stand for here at ALSF. 

Thank you to everyone who supported and participated in The Lemon Run. You’ve enabled us to raise an incredible amount of funds and awareness so that kids with cancer will be able to grow up to be firefighters, teachers, doctors or just simply – grow up.

Check out more photos from The 2012 Lemon Run and sign up to be notified about next year’s race.