On Feb. 11 The American Heart Association partnered with Go Red for Women to host Omaha’s 3rd annual Omaha Metro Red Dress Dash. The dash consisted of a half-mile jog, walk or sprint, beginning at the Union Pacific Building and ending at DJ’s Dugout, where a celebration was held including healthy snacks and a cash bar.
The event was held free of charge to all participants. Its purpose was to raise awareness for women’s heart health.
Men, women and children of all ages came out for the dash and participants were encouraged to wear either a red dress or red clothing over their winter clothes.
Douglas Street to Capitol Street — where the dash took place — were shut down during this time to ensure the safety of the runners.
Although the dash was free of charge, participants were required to fill out a waiver available to them via the American Heart Omaha website. The site also encouraged those interested to donate to the American Heart Association online.
Registration was available at the dash as well and participants or observers could make donations at the registration table.
“Heart disease is still the No. 1 killer of women, taking the life of 1 in 3 women each year,” according to Omaha’s Go Red for Women website.
Because of the prominence of this problem, Red Dress Dashes have been popping up all over the nation, with locations in Kansas City, Missouri; Lincoln, Chicago and Fort Wayne, Indiana, among other cities.
High-profile figures at the dash included Alyssa Howell, winner of the Miss Nebraska 2015 title and former Creighton student and member of Pi Beta Phi, Nebraska Gamma chapter.
The biggest Creighton presence at the dash, however, was Creighton’s Alpha Phi, Theta Delta Chapter whose philanthropic focus includes women’s heart health awareness. Although they were not required to attend, more than 20 members of the chapter volunteered to go early and set up the venue before the dash began and around 30 others participated in the dash itself.
“This means a lot to me personally, because heart disease runs in my family, so our philanthropic efforts are something I hold close to my heart,” said College of Professional Studies class of 2017 student and member of Creighton’s Alpha Phi chapter, McKenna Pearson via email interview.
“Since it was in such a prominent part of the city, people came up to us after we ran and asked why we were running,” said Sawyer Danner-Sack — a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences who is also a member of Creighton’s Alpha Phi Chapter — of the exposure it gave women’s heart health.
“[…] so it raises awareness I think, more than anything, for the cause,” Danner-Sack said of the dash.