CEDAR RAPIDS - A person has to be filled with passion to go walk. In 31 degree weather. Before dawn. On a Sunday morning.

"I've done this 11 years now," Irene Mart of Cedar Rapids told us early Sunday morning, minutes before tha annual Especially For You 5K race and walk.

"I've been doing it for 18 years," said Mary Kelchen of Cedar Rapids.

Registered nurse Amanda Pins said that she has walked in this for four years and is inspired as a colleague faced a recent breast cancer diagnosis.

With a sleek Corvette to follow, thousands of people pushed to raise awareness, as well as their body temperature, in what is an established event in Eastern Iowa. Money goes to the Especially for You fund -- to offer mammograms and other services for people without the insurance or financial resources.

Mercy Medical Center says people raised more than a quarter million dollars from last year's race.

"Anything that has to do with cancer, I try to help," Mart said.

Yet the participate in this event is really astounding. More than 11,000 walkers and runners hit the streets. With millions of strides are thousands of stories. Some point to a family member, a grandmother, mother or sister. Or even themselves.

Janet Woodhouse of Vinton has survived cancer for 20 years. Now she is able to provide the support that she said has been so critical. "We have young gals in our group who are just diagnosed and if they can look at me and say I can do it, that really helps," Woodhouse said. She attended the Hawkeye football game on Saturday night and was working and walking off three hours of sleep.

Woodhouse was part of a large group coming down from Vinton. Tressa Walton said the Benton County town sent about 70 people, with seven cancer survivors in the group.

"Any of us could get that call that our pathology report isn't what we want it to be," Walton said."