Runners and a huge crowd to celebrate breast cancer survivors lined up Saturday morning for The Donna Foundation 5K Run through Riverside.
The event was held this Mother’s Day weekend to honor survivors.
Among the hundreds who lined up to run or walk five kilometers was Leah Strommer, a woman who just months ago learned she had breast cancer.
“I was diagnosed October 5 just through a standard mammogram,” Strommer said. “I was diagnosed with Stage 2 triple negative breast cancer that had spread through my lymph nodes.”
Strommer has made progress in her fight against breast cancer. She finished radiation just Friday and wants to help other women battling the disease.
“I actually learned I was cancer free before my surgery, so that actually launched me into wanting to pay it forward which is really a big reason why I’m here today,” she said.
The Donna Foundation has been fixture in Jacksonville’s fight against breast cancer for almost two decades, and it was critical to the foundation to have a 5K the same weekend moms across the country are celebrated.
“This is a signature event of the Donna Foundation,” said Amanda Napolitano, executive director of the Donna Foundation. We make sure that their financial critical needs are met and celebrate survivorship like we are this morning.”
This was the race’s first run through the Riverside area in the foundation’s 19-year history.