Peoria athletes raise breast cancer awareness by competing in Boston rowing competition

PEORIA ( 25News Now ) - October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and some Peoria athletes taking part in a rowing competition in Boston this weekend are raising awareness of the disease on a large scale.

CREW309 is a Peoria-based rowing team made up of breast cancer survivors and people at high risk of breast cancer. They are in Boston for the Head of the Charles Regatta , the world's largest three-day rowing event.

CREW309 will compete in an exhibition race for cancer survivors Saturday.

"There are hundreds of thousands of spectators that come to this regatta, and so the fact that we have our own race to show everybody that's there just how strong and powerful cancer survivors can be feels like an incredible opportunity," said Lindsay Vlaminck, CREW309 executive director.

Two dozen survivors from the group are in Boston, and eight will be competing. This is CREW309's first competition, and the women have been training all summer.

"In terms of the team, this is something that we had as a dream a long time ago, and something we never thought we'd be able to do and here we are! We're still pinching ourselves. We can't believe this is happening. It's very, very exciting for us," said Karoline Seitz-Goddard, a CREW309 alternate rower.

This race is the inaugural one for cancer survivors at the Head of the Charles competition. The Peoria athletes will be competing against nine other teams from the U.S., a French team, and an Italian team.

"It's a race that every rower wants to compete in, and the fact that we're all here is a dream come true for so many. The racecourse, three miles, [is] very windy with a lot of bridges, so it can be very challenging," Beth Kohl, the executive director of Survivor Rowing Network , the group that planned this race.

Teammates from CREW309 say their rowing is about more than competition. They say 150 minutes of exercise per week is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer coming back.

"We're just not rowing for ourselves. We're rowing for all of CREW309 and all the women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, and they're thinking 'When are they ever going to feel better, when are they going to get to exercise again?' We row for all the women that are going through these kinds of things," said Laurel McLean, who will be competing in Boston.

CREW309 is having an event in early November where they will welcome new team members who are survivors or are at a high risk for breast cancer.