BANGOR, Maine — The streets along Bangor's waterfront were showered in colored powder as event volunteers showered 400 color run participants in this year's Pound the Pavement to End Cancer event.
For 12 years, Chris Parrish has organized the event as part of the work her charity, the Purple Iris Foundation, does to help Mainers pay for the cost of battling cancer.
"I was diagnosed in 2018, six years ago, and it literally took a village to get me to Chicago. It still does for my checkups," she said. "And what better way to pay it forward than making sure Mainers get the treatment that they deserve."
The technicolor fun run became reality after Parrish met Brenda Badger who was undergoing cancer treatment as Parrish was finishing hers. She named the event "Brenda's Run" in her honor.
"It's just a way to bring a community together in camaraderie, to let them know they aren't alone," Parrish said.
Every year, Badger's family and friends run the 5K together to celebrate the life of a woman they love and lost. Chris Carson, Badger’s son-in-law, says the turnout every year is great.
"Everyone runs in honor of Brenda and everyone else suffering with pancreatic cancer," he said. "It's really quite an honor."
Also running Sunday were Jade Bonenfant, her father, Mike and two friends to celebrate and remember the life of Bobbie, Bonenfant's mother, who passed in February.
However tough other days are, Bonenfant described the day of laughter, fun, and color as "amazing."
"It's all about community. Cancer can take a lot of things, but it can't take your hope. Can't take the love you have from other people. It can't take community away unless you let it," she said.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's event was the largest at 400 participants. However, Parrish hopes that next year they will exceed 600 and, possibly, break the event's attendance record.
"It just keeps growing bigger and bigger. It makes me smile cause Brenda watches down on us every year and that makes me happy," Parrish said.
