It really makes me happy to hear about new ostomy awareness events. And there is a really awesome one coming up in just a couple of weeks. The first WannaWearOne Ostomy AWEARness 5k is happening right here in North Carolina! It’ll be on October 4 to coincide with World Ostomy Day.
One very unique part of this race is that ostomy bags are going to be given away as part of the race swag. It’s also an optional part of the run for those who do not have an ostomy to wear the bag! What I find really funny is, to top it off, they will have things like applesauce and pudding to fill the pouches to get a little better feel for what it’s like to wear an ostomy bag.

And while I am so excited that this event is happening, it absolutely breaks my heart that I will not be able to run in it. It happens to land on the same day as a family member’s wedding that is out-of-state and has been planned since before this race was announced. But I did the next best thing and I have signed up for the Virtual Race! Basically, for anyone who cannot make it to North Carolina on race day, you can sign up to be a part of it virtually and run your own 5K and raise awareness and funds on your own.
It’s really exciting to see the word getting out there and I hope that this is the start of many of these type of events in the future. And I can say this, I will make sure to go ahead and put next year’s race on my calendar and I will be one of the first ones getting involved!
But for all of you, now go sign up! Especially if you’re in the Raleigh-Durham area or can make it out here for the race. I think it’s going to be a really great event because I know some awesome people are heading it up. But otherwise, sign up for the virtual run and we’ll all “get together” for a 5K that morning. And in the meantime, spread the word online by using #WannaWearOne!