WEST PALM BEACH · A flood of emotions washed over Joe Mazzeo as he crossed the finish line first at Saturday's Race for the Cure and saw his longtime girlfriend Jamela Mallick waiting for him.
Mallick buried her father, James, last Sunday after a lengthy battle with liver cancer. She fought back tears as she watched Mazzeo win the men's 5K race in his memory.
"I had to win, I had to do it for him ... for her," said Mazzeo, a senior at Florida International University. He covered the 3.1-mile out-and-back course in 16 minutes and 6 seconds. It was the first time in eight appearances that Mazzeo won the race.
"Anything less than first I wouldn't have been happy with. [Steve] Prefontaine could have showed up today and I would have kicked his a--.
"This is more emotional than any other road race I have run, especially this year after what happened to her dad," Mazzeo said. "He lost the fight. He was the bravest man I know. Today was about winning for him. He always wanted to see me win. Any other day I try not to make it about winning or losing, but today it was."
The former John I. Leonard high school runners hugged afterward. Not just any hug, but an embrace that lasted long enough for nearly half the men's field to finish.
"This means the world to me what he did for my dad today," Mallick said. "I am so proud of him. I'm so proud of all the survivors who came out here today."
Gulliver Prep state champion Jordan Adler, 16, of Miami was second in 16:19. John Reback, 31, of North Palm Beach held off Bill Picciano of Palm Beach Shores to finish third by 1 second.
The women's race was just as emotional.
Five-time winner Linda Neary of North Palm Beach, who lost her mother, Virginia, to breast cancer six years ago, finished second to defending champion Sue Molloy of Royal Palm Beach. Molloy, a former state champion at McArthur and All-American at North Carolina State, won in 18:23, 3 seconds ahead of Neary and nearly a minute slower than last year's winning time.
Neary was joined at the race by her two sisters for the first time.
"You think it's going to get easier every year, but it doesn't ... it's harder," Neary said. "It was just as emotional today as it was the first year I ran for Mom. This was really tough. It didn't matter if I won or lost. It was about support. There was no race pressure out there. It was more emotional. I just tried not to cry."
Palm Beach Lakes junior Artemis Saridakis ran in memory of her friend, Sharon Haskins-Leonard of West Palm Beach, who died of breast cancer on Thursday. She and her family were going to the funeral after the road race.
Saridakis finished sixth overall and second in her age group in 20:12. Saridakis, 16, admitted she couldn't get into the race until her mother yelled at her in Greek: "You're running for Sharon."
"When she smiled, she lit up the room," Saridakis said. "We know she's in a better place, but we lost a special friend. Today was her day."
Neary, Saridakis and seemingly everyone else in the crowd of nearly 15,000 runners and walkers wore small pink signs on their race shirts dedicating the race "In memory of" or "In celebration of." Some even had signs pinned onto their signs. They couldn't fit all the names on one piece of paper.
Race proceeds from the 11th annual event benefit breast cancer research, education and detection.