Fun Run/Walk gains traction at Bluegrass Goes Pink
By Annette Tait
BHG News
The 5K Fun Run/Walk was a popular new addition to the annual Bluegrass Goes Pink fundraiser at Cross Ranch last year, and organizers expect to see it grow.
"It turned out so good last year, we thought we should do it again," Bluegrass Goes Pink Organizer Jill Wiese said. "We had about 50 runners last year. Most of them had never been to Cross Ranch -- they really were thrilled about the trails, it turned them on to a discovery at Cross Ranch."
The annual fun run/walk and bluegrass concert event is held in support of cancer awareness, with all proceeds going to the Bismarck Cancer Center Foundation for patient support programs. In its fourth year, the event began as a tribute to Wiese’s sister, Barb Wild. Wild was a critical care nurse who worked in hospital intensive care units, with open heart surgeries, and in catheterization labs. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 39, and fought the disease for 11 years.
"She ate everything right, exercised, did everything healthy," Wiese said. "When Barb got breast cancer, it was like ‘What?’ She didn’t drink, didn’t smoke and was seriously health conscious.
"She barely took a day off during her journey with cancer. She took a couple weeks off when she had her mastectomy. She was tough."
Wild had some liver and bone metastasis, where the original cancer attaches itself to other organs or bones. A stem cell transplant extended her life an estimated six years.
