People have been asking me how the weekend was and it’s kind of hard to put it into words…but I’ll try to do my best. From the start, I knew I was in for a challenge: can I really walk 60 miles and can I really take a shower in a semi truck?! The answer to both questions I learned was yes!
From the moment I arrived at opening ceremonies, I was surrounded by the most uplifting, energetic, and happy group of people I have ever met…even at 5:30 in the morning. The 3-Day staff and the volunteer crew are an amazing group of people. They deserve a huge round of applause for all the hard work they put in this past weekend! From directing traffic while wearing a pirate costume, to assembling hundreds of tents, to clapping for hours on end as we arrived back at camp to bandaging up thousands of blisters - they were spectacular.
Another truly amazing group of people were all the supporters who came out to the cheer stations. Every time I passed through one, I was crying. It’s hard to explain, but it was touching to see the outpouring of support. We’d have people come up and give us hugs, kids who passed out lemonade and candy, and everyone else was in the mood for a high five and many houses even had the sprinklers going for us to cool off in as we walked past. At one point we walked past a young women surrounded by her kids. You could tell she was going through chemo due to the scarf she had wrapped around her head. She looked at as and thanked us for walking for her. I get choked up just thinking about it again.
There were another group of special supporters that followed us around all weekend: a man named Jerry and the “Woo Hoo” guy. They were there all 3 days at multiple points along the route. They never stopped cheering. Every time we would see Jerry in the distance cheering, we’d get so excited! Who knew that smiling face would come to mean so much to all us walkers? The “Woo Hoo” guy also became a favorite very quickly. You could hear him from ½ a mile away yelling “wooooo hoooooo!!!” as each group of walkers passed by him. By the end of day 3, he’d lost his voice. It’s people like these two guys that kept us going all 6o miles.
Camp life was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Those showers in a semi truck I mentioned earlier? Really not that bad after all! Even the 45-minute wait for the showers wasn’t so bad; because it gave you time to meet all the people sitting around you. The food was pretty good too, except I had a problem trying to eat a breakfast of bacon, eggs and hash browns at 5:30 in the morning. Sleeping in the little pink tent was also not as bad as I thought it was going to be. People told me that it wouldn’t really matter if the ground was hard, we’d be so tired we’d sleep regardless – and they were right. The worst part was the foul-mouthed guy in the tent behind us who liked to snore. One of the best parts of camp was the Energizer tent, which offered free massages and internet access! Too bad there was a time limit on those!
The walk itself was an adventure and something I can’t wait to do again. Walkers come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and athletic abilities. Whenever I would start to think, “my legs hurt” I’d see someone who was twice my age with her knees wrapped I’d think, “never mind…if they can do this, then so can I”. At one point, we were passed by a person pushing a wheelchair and by a 70 year old lady! There were even pregnant women out there! So, for all those that think you can’t do this…you can!!! The 3-day walkers are a determined group of individuals. By day 3, people were walking in flip-flops, socks and even slippers. They were walking on feet so bandaged you couldn’t even see their skin. Adrenaline carried many people through those last few miles. It was all worth it though to finally see mile 60 come to an end and to walk into Closing Ceremonies arm in arm with our team through the tunnel of screaming supporters. Once again, I was crying.
I could really write so much more, but I’m sure some of you are bored and gave up halfway through this so I’ll finish with my final thoughts. I strongly encourage everyone to try this challenge at least once. I won’t lie, the fundraising is difficult in this tough economy and training is very time consuming, but the reward you’ll get out of helping someone else is so worth it. The 3-Day is a life-changing event. You laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll cry some more. You’ll meet some wonderful people and learn how strong of a person you really are. We all probably know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and sadly, some of them are no longer with us. I walk in memory of those we have lost, in honor of those who struggle with this on a daily basis, and in the hope that one day, they will find a cure. Because everyone deserves a lifetime.
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