$1-million mark topped for Race for the Cure

Sandy Finestone was there before the beginning of the Komen Orange County Race for the Cure — and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight.

The Costa Mesa resident, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1983, was on the steering committee that organized the first race 14 years ago. Since then, Finestone has worked on every event and watched the race grow bigger — and more bountiful — with each passing year.

“We had just over 3,000 attendees, and we thought we’d died and gone to heaven,” said Finestone, recalling the first race in 1992. “We raised $150,000, and we were just ecstatic. For a first-time race, that was extraordinary. We heard last night we’re already over $1 million in pledges and sponsorship for this year.”

The organizers of the 15th annual Race for the Cure hope to raise more than $2 million this year for breast cancer treatment and research. The first race kicks off Sunday at 7:30 a.m. in front of the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel at Fashion Island, with other contests beginning over the next two hours.

The total prize purse is $5,000, which will be divided among the first 10 finishers of the women’s five-kilometer timed run. Participants in the other races are not eligible for prize money, but may run for pledges. This year’s event will also feature a special tribute, with more than 2,000 breast-cancer survivors assembling at 8:50 a.m. on the back stairs of the Pacific Life building.

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, a global nonprofit organization, was founded in 1982 to fight the disease. The Orange County race, which has raised more than $13 million to date, donates 25% of its proceeds to the foundation and 75% to screenings and treatment for men and women around Orange County. Last year’s event amassed more than $1.9 million.

Lisa Wolter, the executive director of the foundation’s Orange County affiliate, said the increasing number of runners every year was largely due to expanded awareness of breast cancer.

“People have recognized that one in eight women will be affected by breast cancer in her lifetime, and they want to do something about it,” she said. “They know that participating in the Race for the Cure is really an effective way of bringing money and attention to making a difference.”

Registration for this year’s Race for the Cure will take place today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Macy’s in Fashion Island, and starting at 6:30 a.m. by the Pacific Life building on the day of the race.

Entry fees range from $20 to $30 until Sunday, when all runners must pay $35.