Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure – Twin Cities 2009

I am not even sure how to put into words how the walk effected me…  It was an amazing experience to be with so many others who have also been effected by breast cancer…  You can laugh, cry, dance, and everyone would be there with you, where ever you were, whatever you were feeling at that moment.  Thank you for all of you who helped me reach my goal so I could be a part of it.  About 2,500 people walked this year and we raised $6.1 million.  Not too shabby…

Friday started a bit rainny, but the rest of the weekend we had perfect weather.

Women aren’t the only ones who walk, men walk too.  And let me tell ya, if you are the kind of guy who would like over 2,400 women to make a BIG deal of you, you should walk next year!  Because, you know that real men wear pink!

Along the route, all three days businesses and people cheered us on, played music, waved signs, decorated their yards, gave us buttons, high-fives, candy and freeze pops (best popsicles EVER).

There was the most amazing volunteers and crew helping with the event.  If it wasn’t for the motorcycle guys and the mullet pig, I don’t know if some of us could have made it through parts of the walk.  Thanks for all the encouragement, guys!

As far as the whole food thing went, the special food policy worked like a charm!  I was always able to get my food without a problem.  (Next time I may not want to have everything quite so frozen solid, though, as microwaves in catering semi-trailer aren’t the speediest.)  They always had my lunch at the lunch pit stop.

I carried some salty snacks the first day as I wanted to be sure there was an option for me when I needed it.  I shouldn’t have worried though, there were always oranges, bananas, potato chips, nuts, or baby carrots to be had.  I didn’t carry any extra treats on day 2 or 3 preferring to save the room in my pack for band-aids and extra socks.

We saw some great scenery along the walk (most of which I didn’t take a picture of because I forgot to as I was trying to walk 60 miles and not tip over)…

and sat on Jody’s couch…

While you walked there was a long line of walkers as far as you could see.  Do people who do these types of events all the time get used to it?   For me the whole unity of purpose combined with pushing your body to a different level while celebrating the hope in each other really made the whole event feel amazingly special.

At camp they sent us off with cheers and welcomed us in with cheers and music.  The last walker of the day is cheered in by the entire camp and carries in the flag for the flagpole.  There is a seemingly unlimited supply of hot water in the showers (yes, the showers are in semi-trailers – weird, but who cares?  HOT WATER!!)   There is an evening camp show, announcements for the next day, and don’t forget to stop at the remembrance tent to keep grounded on why we are all doing this…

The sea of pink tents.  Don’t forget the tent decor!

Home sweet tent.

I was really lucky to be “adopted” by an amazing group of ladies (Tina, Ginny, and Mercedes, the Cancer Sucks team) who walked with me on day one, then we found another lone walker like me, Jessie.  They were great fun and the miles didn’t seem like such a big deal when we were talking and walking together.  None of us had walked before and thought we could easily find each other in the morning to walk together again….

…yeah, not so much.  Dude, that is over 2,500 people and looking for someone in a pink hat does NOT narrow down who you are looking for.  I walked alone on Saturday;  that was a TOUGH day for me.  Luckily, on day 3 I met up with Tina and the group at pit stop one and we walked the rest of the way together.  Thank you guys!  You made it possible for me to walk the whole way.  You are an inspiration to me and so fun.  I feel really blessed to have meet them.  My goal if I walk it again is to be able to dance up and down the hills like Jessie did!