Turnout steady at Komen charity race despite controversy

El PASO, Texas — If the controversy over Planned Parenthood is a problem for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, it didn't seem to keep people away on Sunday from the first race since the row erupted earlier this month.

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"I heard about it and read several articles about it but, quite honestly, as far as me participating in this event, it wasn't a problem," said Fernie Ramirez, a 41-year-old safety and environmental manager said at the start of the race in this Texas border city.

Organizers said 11,000 participants donned running shoes and signature pink T-shirts to race and walk for Komen, the world's largest breast cancer charity, a turnout almost unchanged from the 11,500 or so who took part last year.

The event in El Paso, which lies over the border from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, was the first anywhere for the nonprofit since the row this month over its decision to cut funding to women's health organization Planned Parenthood.

The national uproar thrust the charity into the middle of the nation's polarizing debate on abortion, and threats to protest at Komen's fund-raisers led the Race for the Cure organization to reverse that decision quickly.

"This is a great showing," said Stephanie Flora, the executive director of Komen's El Paso affiliate, who said she expected the final tally to equal the turnout for last year.

"It's become a family event, a community event. People bring their grandparents and their kids."

Komen's more than 140 races worldwide every year help drive nearly $420 million in donations of all kinds annually. Such sums make Komen a powerhouse among private breast cancer charities, allowing it to fund education efforts, research and screenings.

Turnout for the El Paso race on Sunday was seen as a test over how deeply the controversy has affected the organization's grassroots base. Five events are scheduled for March and 12 for April, according to the Komen website.

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Organizers said they were encouraged on Sunday.

Flora said the figure of 11,000 participants was conservative and that final numbers would go higher, given the long lines of people who turned up to register.

In addition, she pegged the nonregistered crowd at close to 18,000, although a police estimate came in lower at 12,000 to 13,000.

The parking lot outside the 9,700-seat Cohen Stadium, which hosted the event, was packed, as were a large community college lot to one side and a shopping center lot on the other.

No protesters came and, Flora said, she received no messages complaining about Komen's initial decision to cut off Planned Parenthood or the ensuing choice to resume support.

In El Paso, a heavily Catholic and Hispanic border city of almost 650,000 people, nearly a quarter of residents live below the poverty level, according to Census data.

Organizers previously said the controversy did not have a local flavor because the city does not have a Planned Parenthood clinic. Planned Parenthood's six El Paso clinics, which did not provide abortions, closed in 2009 due to the economic downturn.

But for many of those taking part, the event was deeply personal and far removed from abortion politics.

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Ten-month breast cancer survivor Zulema Salazar said she came to walk with her sister, while 16 other friends and relatives they called "Team Salazar" were along to show support.

"I didn't follow Race for the Cure ever before, but now I will," Salazar said. "I want them to find a cure, and I like the fact that they give mammograms to people who can't afford it."

Many participants wrote "in memory of" designs on their shirts.

Komen's races attracted 1.6 million participants last year, often with school, neighborhood and workplaces organizing teams of women and men of all ages, and its pink ribbons are a well-known symbol of support for the fight against breast cancer.