About 1,500 men and women power walked 26.2 miles, from Randall's Island through the streets of Manhattan and back—all while wearing bras. The first overnight MoonWalk marathon in NYC was held for breast cancer awareness, staring at 10 p.m. and ending around 4 this morning.
Walk The Walk's MoonWalk NYC is the first American offshoot of the UK's popular MoonWalk, which raises money for breast cancer causes. This weekend's event was to benefit Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s Breast Examination Center in Harlem, and each participant raised at least $150. Organizers hope the MoonWalk will raise $2 million:
Unlike the UK that has a National Health Service, where everybody expects free treatment, in the US, everybody has to have health insurance to ensure the best care. Except, not everybody does or can afford it. At [Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s Breast Examination Center in Harlem], over 80% of the patients are uninsured, so from small acorns, we want to work towards ensuring that every breast cancer patient - regardless of where she lives or works or was born - the access to highly-skilled, empathetic breast cancer medicine to achieve the best outcome… no matter what their circumstances.
So… whilst the challenge is open to all abilities and offers a wonderful opportunity to reach a personal goal, it is also set to achieve something very special.
One of America's most famous bra-wearers, professional soccer player Brandi Chastain, was on hand to encourage everyone, and participants were also urged to decorate their bras creatively— they sure succeeded on that front!
