TO KEEPING SKATING, GOING ACROSS THE COMMUNITY. WELL, TODAY SACRAMENTO TURNED GREEN NOT WITH ENVY, BUT INSTEAD WITH THOUSANDS OF RUNNERS MAKING STRIDES AGAINST CANCER. KCRA 3’S ERIN HEFT BRINGS US TO THIS YEAR’S SHAMROCK AND HALF MARATHON. IT’S FULL OF FUN, SPIRITS, AND LEVITY. I’M JUST CHILLING ALL THE RUNNERS IN THE SHAMROCK. I’M HAPPY TO SEE THEM OUT AND RUNNING IN A BEAUTIFUL DAY TODAY. BUT DID YOU KNOW EVERY RUNNER YOU SEE ON THE SHAMROCK AND COURSE IS SUPPORTING A LOCAL CAUSE? WE’RE WALKING FROM MY UNCLE WHO JUST SURVIVED COLON CANCER. MY MOTHER IN LAW IS A CANCER SURVIVOR. ONE OF MY REALLY DEAR FRIENDS IS A CANCER SURVIVOR. MY BROTHER IN LAW JUST IS THE NEWEST CANCER SURVIVOR. SO YEAH, IT’S IMPORTANT TO US. FOR YEARS, RUNNERS LACE UP AND HIT THE PAVEMENT AND THE FUNDS GO TOWARDS SUPPORTING THE TRIUMPH CANCER FOUNDATION, A LOCAL CHARITY ON A MISSION TO EMPOWER CANCER SURVIVORS. CANCER AFFECTS SO MANY PEOPLE. PEOPLE I KNOW TOO. SO IT’S A GOOD CAUSE. THAT’S REALLY GREAT. IT MAKES US WANT TO CHEER THEM ON EVEN MORE. YEAH. YOU SEE, THEIR FOUNDATION FOCUSES ON HELPING PEOPLE RECAPTURE THEIR LIVES THROUGH PHYSICAL FITNESS. AFTER A CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND THE CARE THAT FOLLOWS, THEIR NONPROFIT IS FOCUSED ON BUILDING PROGRAMS TO EMPOWER SURVIVORS AFTER THEIR CANCER TREATMENTS AT NO COST TO THE SURVIVORS THEMSELVES. THE IDEA ACTUALLY CAME FROM THE CHARITY’S FOUNDER AFTER HER OWN DIAGNOSIS YEARS LATER, WITH HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF FITNESS INSTRUCTION ANNUALLY AMONG NEARLY 2000 SURVIVORS SINCE THE BEGINNING. THE WIDESPREAD REACH OF THE TRIUMPH CANCER FOUNDATION THROUGHOUT THE SACRAMENTO METRO AREA IS REMARKABLE. I SAW THAT IT WAS CANCER AWARENESS, AND ONE OF MY DAD’S FRIENDS HAD A THAT DIED FROM LUNG CANCER. SO I WANT TO DO THIS IN HONOR OF HIM TAKING OVER WEST SAC SACRAMENTO OUT NEAR THE STATE CAPITOL AND BEYOND THE 13.1 MILE COURSE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT OF CHANGE AND GENEROSITY. THIS RACE, A STAPLE IN THE SACRAMENTO COMMUNITY THAT GIVES BACK IN STRIDES IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE. IT’S NICE. WE LOVE IT. IT’S A GREAT THING TO SE
Thousands pack Sacramento’s Shamrock’n Run, turning miles into support for cancer survivors
Beyond the festive atmosphere, many said their strides carried a deeper purpose.
Updated: 10:30 PM PDT Mar 15, 2026
West Sacramento and beyond turned green all weekend long, not with envy, but with energy, as thousands of runners hit the streets for the Shamrock’n Run, bringing fun, spirit and levity for a cause.“I’m just cheering on all the runners in the Shamrock. I’m happy to see them out and running on a beautiful day today…it’s nice, we love it, it’s a great thing to see in Sacramento,” said Montrell Washington cheering from the sidelines.Though beyond the festive atmosphere, many said their strides carried a deeper purpose. Every runner on the Shamrock’n course was also supporting a local cause, raising funds for the Triumph Cancer Foundation, a Sacramento-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering cancer survivors.Kortni Parker, walking with family, said the mission is personal. “We’re walking for my uncle, he just survived colon cancer,” Parker said. Cari Parker added that cancer survivorship touches multiple loved ones in her life. “My mother-in-law is a cancer survivor, one of my really dear friends is a cancer survivor, my brother-in-law is the newest cancer survivor, so yeah, this is important to us,” she said.For years, the Shamrock’n race weekend has helped fuel Triumph Cancer Foundation’s work across the Sacramento metro area. The foundation focuses on helping survivors recapture their lives through physical fitness after a cancer diagnosis and the care that follows, building programs that support survivors after treatment at no cost to them.The idea began with the foundation’s founder following her own diagnosis. Now, years later, Triumph’s impact has grown substantially, providing hundreds of hours of fitness instruction annually and reaching nearly 2,000 survivors since its beginning. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
West Sacramento and beyond turned green all weekend long, not with envy, but with energy, as thousands of runners hit the streets for the Shamrock’n Run, bringing fun, spirit and levity for a cause.
“I’m just cheering on all the runners in the Shamrock. I’m happy to see them out and running on a beautiful day today…it’s nice, we love it, it’s a great thing to see in Sacramento,” said Montrell Washington cheering from the sidelines.
Though beyond the festive atmosphere, many said their strides carried a deeper purpose. Every runner on the Shamrock’n course was also supporting a local cause, raising funds for the Triumph Cancer Foundation, a Sacramento-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering cancer survivors.
Kortni Parker, walking with family, said the mission is personal. “We’re walking for my uncle, he just survived colon cancer,” Parker said. Cari Parker added that cancer survivorship touches multiple loved ones in her life. “My mother-in-law is a cancer survivor, one of my really dear friends is a cancer survivor, my brother-in-law is the newest cancer survivor, so yeah, this is important to us,” she said.
For years, the Shamrock’n race weekend has helped fuel Triumph Cancer Foundation’s work across the Sacramento metro area.
The foundation focuses on helping survivors recapture their lives through physical fitness after a cancer diagnosis and the care that follows, building programs that support survivors after treatment at no cost to them.
The idea began with the foundation’s founder following her own diagnosis. Now, years later, Triumph’s impact has grown substantially, providing hundreds of hours of fitness instruction annually and reaching nearly 2,000 survivors since its beginning.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel