Coronadans Run in Undies to Honor Friend Who Died of Cancer

Sherilyn Clayes and Crystal Hall decided it wasn’t enough just to remember their fallen friend. They’ve organized a special team, called the Blue Ribbon Booties, to pay homage to Lisa Skelton-Crabb, and to raise awareness of colon cancer by running in their underwear at the upcoming Undy 5000 Family Run/Walk.

Skelton-Crabb was only 48 when she died last July of colon cancer. A Coronado High School graduate (class of ‘80), she resided in Coronado where she raised her three children.

“This is something we are all very passionate about,” said Clayes, who, along with Hall, is helping to organize the Blue Ribbon Booties. “Lisa was such a good person. She was a lifelong friend, a wife and mother. She was devoted to her job as a nurse at Children’s Hospital, and was constantly doing what she could to help others.

“It is our hope that people reading this will contact us and volunteer to participate on March 19 to help raise awareness in the fight against colon cancer, and to help us celebrate Lisa’s memory.”

So far, the Blue Ribbon Booties have recruited nearly 50 participants.

A Coronado fundraiser will take place at 6 p.m., Saturday, March 12, at Restaurant. Owner Brant Sarber has arranged for a special happy hour menu to be available, and the Blue Ribbon Booties will be on hand selling raffle tickets for prizes. The community is invited to attend.

Clayes and Hall say they are looking for walkers and runners to participate on the Blue Ribbon Booties team, but are also seeking sponsors and donors, exhibitors at the event, and volunteers to help with logistics.

“All our efforts are designed to honor Lisa and to put a face on this disease,” said Clayes. “The greater the awareness, the more lives that will be saved.”

Colon cancer is one of the most preventable types of cancer, and yet it is the number two leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.

“We know Lisa would have wanted us to carry on and do something productive with our sadness,” said Clayes. “We want to be sure that her desire to make lives better carries on in each of us.

The Blue Ribbon Booties will join thousands of others participating in the Undy 5000 Walk & Run on March 19 in Mission Bay … in their underwear.

Wearing underwear bottoms is designed to distinguish this event from others. Participants intentionally draw attention to their bottoms (and colorectal cancer) by running in their underwear.

The San Diego Undy 5000 5K & 1-Mile Family Fun Run/Walk is hosted by the Colon Cancer Alliance and takes place at Mission Bay’s De Anza Cove. The Colon Cancer Alliance is the oldest and largest national patient advocacy organization dedicated to ending the suffering caused by colorectal cancer.

The Undy 5000 will start at Mission Bay Park on Saturday, March 19 at 8 a.m. Onsite registration will take place at 6:30 a.m. For more information on how to participate on the Blue Ribbon Booties team call 619-435-5138 or BlueRibbonBooties@gmail.com. More information on the event can be found at www.Undy5000.org.

Submitted by Joe Ditler of Part-time PR