Over $1,000 Raised for Massey Cancer Center

We got a little press from the RTD over the weekend but the truly exciting part of this story is that over $1,000 will be contributed to the good folks at Massey Cancer Center.

David Blanchard might have been the most popular individual in Monroe Park before and shortly after the start of yesterday's race.

Blanchard, the owner of Blanchard's Coffee Co., was offering steaming cups of coffee -- "our regular breakfast blend" -- for sale on an unseasonably cold morning. Lines of customers formed early and never seemed to shrink.

"We can't keep up" with the demand, Blanchard said. "We'll be brewing and pouring for six straight hours. We'll sell every cup of coffee we can make."

And they made a lot. Blanchard performed a quick mental calculation: "Let's see -- three brewers brewing seven pots an hour. That's 21 pots multiplied by six hours. That's about 70 gallons of brewed coffee." An after-the-fact assessment put the total closer to 150 pots and 85 gallons. The suggested price: $1 per cup.

This was not entrepreneurial foresight. What is was, was philanthropy. Said Blanchard: "All of the money we make today -- and I mean, all of it; every dollar -- is going to the Massey Cancer Center," the race's designated charity.