On Sunday May 22, 2011, a team from the NATO Defense College participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a fund-raising event to promote awareness regarding the importance of prevention in the fight against breast cancer.
The NDC team met at the starting point, where the official team picture was taken. From there the runners and walkers in the team split into separate groups before joining the thousands of other participants who were all eagerly awaiting the starter’s orders.
The 5 km run officially started and ended at the Terme di Caracalla and followed a route through the heart of ancient Rome, taking in the Circo Massimo, Piazza Venezia, the Fori Imperiali and the Colosseum.
Rome has been among the hosting cities for the event for the last 12 years, and in 2010 was second only to St. Louis (Missouri, USA) in terms of numbers of participants.
This year, the College entered more participants than ever before, in order to vie for the honour of having the largest team in the event – and It must certainly have been the most international. College staff and Senior Course Members accompanied by their families made up a total of 128 runners and walkers, coming from 31 different nations.
The NDC is proud to have raised about 2000 Euros in support of innovative breast cancer research, meritorious awards and educational and scientific conferences around the world.
Quite apart from having worked for a good cause, we all enjoyed a wonderful sunny day together in the beautiful city of Rome, jogging past all the historical monuments and ancient archeological sites. Special thanks to our planning team for motivating and organizing the NDC contingent.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Valerie Kasseckert, DEU C)
Collège de Défense de l'OTAN 