I usually write about my running life, but there are always things that get in the way…some more important than others. On Saturday April 5th, Clint and I put on a beer fest event called the First Annual – Sacramento Ball Sack & Beer Fest. It was an event we created after going through Clint’s testicular cancer journey and realized there was nothing local that brought awareness to testicular cancer, hence the “ball sack” part of the name. We wanted to have fun with an important topic, but also educate people about what testicular cancer is.

After just a few months of planning, the event was here! We were a little nervous because our presales were low and it rained on Friday (we weren’t expecting this). We really hoped that the rain would not continue into Saturday and there would be a lot of “day of” sales. After setting up Friday all day and Saturday morning, the sun was shining and people started arriving EARLY! We were pretty happy, even though we still had a lot of work to do during the event.

The live music we brought on sounded great, people were happy, the vendors were happy, the breweries were happy and it really could not have gone any better. Yes, there were a few hiccups, but nothing too bad or unmanageable.

Overall, we were pretty pleased with the attendance and were also surprised to find out that some people even drove two hours or more to come to our event!

One of the best parts about planning this event, is talking to people who are really concerned about testicular cancer. It may have affected them personally or they are just scared to get it. It is pretty rare, but we want men to recognize the signs or the things they can do to check themselves on a monthly bases.

We were able to raise and donate $3,220 to the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation and plan to have this event next year and hopefully the following years after. While wrapping up this event and sending out thank yous, I realized how special this was for me (and Clint). We didn’t just put on a beer fest for the heck of it or so we could drink craft brews with our friends. There was real meaning behind this event. And while our friends and all the people that attended had a ton of fun, we are grateful that we can help a great organization and continue with spreading the word about this cancer.

*Note: This blog was started on April 8th originally.*