Cancer Survivor & Daughter Join Apple Blossom Run to Celebrate Again 24 Years Later

The morning of the 2026 Apple Blossom Run was bright and sunny – filled with the busy comings and goings of race sign-ups along with a faint whiff of a bustling diner from the nearby Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast – and Evelyn Hammond was ready to race, even if she’d be using walking sticks.

“In 2018, they said I would be in a wheelchair in six months,” she explained when asked why she made a commitment to follow through on the run out all the way to the end. “I wasn’t sure I was going to walk the next year, and here I’m still walking.”

“My daughter is going to participate with me,” she added with a smile.

The Apple Blossom Run is a long-time Wenatchee tradition, sponsored each year by Confluence Health and Ballard Ambulance, and has evolved into an honored family tradition for many. With the race open to everyone – from the most elite athlete to a kid in a stroller pushed by mom and dad – the event fosters community and clears the path for the Festival’s Grand Parade that follows.

Evelyn was a strong believer in the run and the impact it had on the community as a healthy way to bring people together.

“It’s a good thing to get together. Especially if you’ve been here before [participating in the race]. You can make new friends, and maybe even run with them.”

And though it had been a while, this wasn’t Evelyn’s first time joining in the Apple Blossom Run.

“[Originally, I joined the Apple Blossom Run in 2002 since] I lived in town and was a utility groundskeeper. I took care of all the parks – Pioneer Park, all of them – and I was turning 65 that year so that was my challenge to myself that year to do it,” she explained.

In addition to celebrating the birthday milestone, Evelyn had that same year officially gone into remission after treatment for breast cancer. The run was a celebration: of a special birthday, of a disease successfully fought, and of ability to still ‘do things’ that mattered so very much to her.

“I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to since, evidently from the result of the chemo, I got peripheral neuropathy,” she went on to explain, adding how even after remission movement continued to be a challenge. “So last year I didn’t think I’d even be able to walk.”

But she set herself a goal. She was going to be in Wenatchee, having since moved to Spokane after retirement, and knew the Apple Blossom Run would be rolling around again.

“And I thought, well, I’m going to try it.”

Evelyn wasn’t alone in the race. This year’s Apple Blossom Run saw record numbers with 1,602 participants, an increase of 29% over 2025. Not only did the race better the community’s health, but it also helped in another way: This year’s run raised $18,664.70 — a 52% increase over 2025 — with proceeds going to the Confluence Health Foundation to support access to care across our region.

But, despite the rest of the community there to run by her side and support her in the challenge, one fellow participant stood out amongst all the rest for Evelyn: her daughter, Kathy Hay. In addition to running the 10K, Kathy joined her mother on her walk as well, returning after her race to help encourage her and see that she made it to the finish line.

“To me it seems like her victory lap over cancer,” Kathy said when asked what this race meant for her and her mom.

For both Evelyn and Kathy, this sort of event is more than a race. It reinforces what you can do if you set your mind to something and refuse to think you can’t. It also is a reminder that community is powerful, and support makes all the difference in the world.

“Participate. […] Get out and do something,” Evelyn explained. “If you have cancer, do something. MS or anything else, get out and do something. People will support you.”

As Evelyn readied for her first Apple Blossom Run in 24 years – and celebrated 24 years of beating cancer – she had only one thing she knew she’d be thinking as she crossed that finish line.

“I made it!” she said with a laugh and smile.