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WADENA — Rain may have darkened the skies above Tapley Park at intermittent intervals on Saturday, Sept. 24, but it didn't seem to dampen the spirits of the participants in the 11th Annual Princess Warrior 5K Run, Walk, Roll, Stroll or Crawl.
"It was a wonderful turnout," said Jil Fiemeyer, the mother of the original "Princess Warrior," Jane Fiemeyer, who died from leukemia in 2012, when she was just eight years old.
Though the final tally of participants has not yet been determined (more than 350 pre-registrations were recorded, but same-day signups were also encouraged), Fiemeyer noted that "the energy was higher than it's ever been."
In fact, she added, if rain hadn't put an end to the post-5K festivities, "I'm not sure some of those kids would ever have left. There was an incredible energy that was just so Jane-like."
Because the event is open to everyone, whether they choose to use their own feet, strollers, wheelchairs, roller blades or bikes to complete the three-mile course, the timer that stood next to the start/finish line was purely for the participants' own use, Fiemeyer said, so there was no official award or prize for those who finished at the front of the pack.
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"Jane didn't want anyone who couldn't run to not be able to participate," she said, explaining the event's "Run, Walk, Roll, Stroll or Crawl" tagline.
In fact, Jane's vision for the event has been paramount in its planning since it began more than a decade ago, when a group of students at Wadena-Deer Creek "sat down right after Jane died and planned the event she had outlined from her hospital bed," Fiemeyer said.
Proceeds from that event helped to establish the Princess Warrior Foundation , which raises funds to help realize Jane's dream of finding a cure for cancer, "so that others wouldn't have to experience the pain and sadness that comes with a cancer diagnosis," said Fiemeyer.
The foundation also works to let other kids who have cancer know they and their families have support, both financially and emotionally, she added. Each year, a group of area children living with the disease are honored as "Cancer Heroes" during the 5K event.
Nine children, from the Wadena, Perham, Staples and Bertha-Hewitt area, were honored this year. The "Cancer Heroes" ranged in age from as young as 2 to as old as 19, Fiemeyer added.
Those who didn't want to take part in the actual event could also get involved through volunteering, she said, whether to help with set up and take-down or to hand out cookies and water to participants along the route, or even to cheer them on at various points along the way.
"It takes a lot of people to put this event on," Fiemeyer said.
And those who wanted to participate in the run, but couldn't make it to Saturday's event, had a "virtual" option of completing a 5K run at a date and time of their own choosing. "We started doing that even before COVID (happened)," said Fiemeyer.
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One of the attendees at Saturday's event was the reigning Miss Minnesota, Rachel Evangelisto, who revealed in her remarks at the start of the race that she had lost a younger sister to cancer — specifically, leukemia, which was what also claimed Jane's life in 2012.
Fiemeyer said that particular moment created a "bittersweet" bond between Evangelisto and her own daughters, Katie and Anna, who have been an integral part of the planning for their sister's namesake event since its inception.
After the last participant crossed the finish line, most chose to stay for the after-run festivities, which included a kids' carnival, bouncy houses, face painting and a hot dog lunch served up by the Wadena Lions.
"It was just a really fun day, even if the rain did cut it a little short," Fiemeyer said.
