In its very first year, the Winter Pineapple Classic starts with a Northwest-style 5K scramble with obstacles and ends with a Hawaiian-themed luau.
Sponsored by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Winter Pineapple Classic Nov. 11 at Magnuson Park in Seattle will be fun and challenging and supports a good cause. While not a requirement, participants are strongly encouraged to raise funds to help cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma, and improve the quality of life for patients and their families.
The idea for the race originated with Eric Cox of Seattle. Last year, both his wife and son were diagnosed with cancer.
“After months of living and breathing cancer, we needed something to take our minds off it,” says the man behind the Pineapple. As an antidote, he signed up for Seattle’s “Light the Night” walk and raised over $45,000 to contribute to cancer research.
“The way we raised money was phenomenal,” Cox marveled. “We sent out an email, and it just sort of snowballed like a chain-letter until we were receiving funds from people we didn’t even know all over the world.”
The success of their campaign and the fun they had as a family – in spite of their ordeal – had a lasting impact on the family. With a trip to Hawaii planned as extra incentive to stay strong throughout their grueling treatment, they formed the Pineapple Classic, loosely inspired by “Muddy Buddy” (a nation-wide event involving bikes, mud and lots of laughter).
“We wanted it to be in the winter when the weather is at its absolute worst, almost like a Christmas-in-July concept,” said Cox. “Except the whole Hawaiian theme has special meaning for us, so we chose that. It’s not even necessarily about raising funds so much as having a great time.”
Having a great time doesn’t mean you’re not on the clock, however. This is a timed team event for two- and four-person teams. Individual finish times are combined for a total team finish time and the fastest overall team wins.
The obstacle course will be kept secret until race day. If you’re unable to complete a particular obstacle, you may instead choose to perform a Pineapple Penalty, where an official will provide you with an easier but more time-consuming challenge. Prizes and trophies will be awarded to first-place finishers in each category as well as those with the most “Aloha Spirit.” Prizes will also be awarded to the top three fundraisers.
All participants will receive a long sleeve event shirt and an entry ticket to the post-event luau.
After the race, grab your limbo stick and head to Hangar 30 for the indoor party featuring a pig roast, $1 beer garden, courtesy of Georgetown Brewing Company, and plenty of Hawaiian entertainment.
Registration is open to those 16 and up; fees are $100 for a two-person team and $175 for a four-person team, but increase to $150 and $250, respectively, on the day of the race. Guests of participants are welcome, but must pay $5 to feast at the luau, while children under 10
are free.
In the long term, what the Cox family would like to see happen is that the race picks up sponsorship and will eventually spread to other cities throughout the country.
“We’d love to raise a million dollars a year for cancer.”
For more information, and to pre-register online, visit www.lls.org/wa/pineapple
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