The Walk (the non 5 minute version)

So. By now, you may have figured out that I walked the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, Washington DC this year. It was my 4th year. If you're unfamiliar with the walk, here's the short version of how it works: you pick a city, you raise $1800 (or more) through the generous gifts from your friends, family, friends-of-friends and even perfect strangers. You get up at a wee hour on a Saturday morning. You walk 26.2 miles. You sleep (you hope!). You awake Sunday and walk 13.1 more miles. That's 39.3 miles in 2 days.  After 4 years = I've hoofed 157.2 miles.  Not counting the training walks that lead up to the event.


But to me, this walk is about so much more than just the walking. Sure, it's a great way to lose some weight or get in better shape. Those are great bonus items that come out of the experience.

First, the funds raised stay in the local community where the walk is conducted. So the walkers this year raised $4.5 MILLION and it stays here in DC/NoVA/MD  (trivia - around here if you see DMV it could either mean the dept of motor vehicles OR DC/MD/VA. so check context). (Click here to see the grants given out this year. They give it out at the closing ceremony, so all the walkers know their immediate impact. Very cool)

Someone asked me why I walk. That's a long story - so feel free to read on.  Or just skip to the end for rest of  the pictures.

I started with the 2010 walk. Why? Someone told me they didn't think I could do it. (there's nothing quite like indirectly daring a Jersey girl to do something to get her fired up).  So I decided I would. I started my training and my fundraising and had a friend join me on the journey. It's not easy, but it's nothing like what the women (and men!) who battle breast cancer face every single day. Those folks are doing brave, hard work. This? This is a 2 day strain. And when you do it with friends, in honor of family, in memory of a loved one, it's an inspirational weekend like nothing I've experienced anywhere else.

Along the way over the years, I have met a lot of AMAZING people.

Year 1: I met a woman - she was 30 years old. Yes, 30. There's a history of breast cancer in her family, so she went to the doctor for a baseline mammogram. That way they'd know what to watch for later. She came home scheduled for a double mastectomy. Remember her age? 30.  I walk for her. One of my dearest friends' mother-in-law lost her battle a few years ago, after fighting valiantly for many years. I walk for her. And for her granddaughter that she may know a world with a cure.

Year 2: I met my walker buddy Jessica around mile 6, just before we got to the White House. We walked every single step together this weekend.  (more on that below) We're both walking, among other reasons, with the hope that our little girls will never have to walk. My tentmate that year was an Army sergeant. She uses part of her leave every year to walk - in honor of her sister and in memory of her mom. I walk for them.

Year 3: I met my walker buddy Reid around mile 10 in Georgetown. He lost his lovely wife, Ellicia, Dec 31, 2006 after a brave battle. He walks every year in her memory so this year (2013) was walk #7 for him. She left behind a loving husband, 2 darling children and countless other family members and friends. Reid's active duty in the US Army. So he serves us all every day and then spends his free time (he uses leave for this) training and walking every year in Washington. DC was a special city for them and no matter where he's stationed, he returns to DC every year to carry on. I walk for Ellicia, Reid, their kids and millions more just like them. Families still fighting, or families fighting to carry on after a loss.

Year 4: I've added a lot of names to my walking list. My aunt. Elisa - a fellow Vandy alum. You can read her story here. Monica - a friend of a friend. Elissa - a friend of another friend. And Brandie.  I met Brandie through twitter - as we were both talking about our walk journey last year. Brandie walks in Chicago. She fights every day. You can read her journey here.

That's a lot of folks - and a lot of links. But that's the thing about breast cancer. Did you know that EVERY 3 minutes someone else is diagnosed? So I walk, for all these folks, and for my girls - so that someday it won't be every 3 minutes. The theme from the walk a few years ago was "Every statistic is someone's best friend". How true that is. We're all connected on this journey to a cure.

This year's phrase: the more of us who walk, the more of us survive.  So I set out this year on a gorgeous sunny day in DC. Couldn't have asked for anything better.  In light of all the rain we've had since Monday, I am that much more thankful for the sunshiney blessing of the weekend.  The walk starts with an opening ceremony.

** back up. The experience starts Friday night at event eve. Where you hand in your last checks (I was at $4092 with the checks as of last Friday but donations are still coming in!!) And you can sign up for next year - I did, I was #206 at 7:30 Friday night - and you can start to get the adrenaline flowing through your veins. The music is rocking, the people are dancing, and the town is painted pink. It's a sight to behold. Which means I didn't get any pictures. HA!**

So Saturday morning (I hotel it Friday night so Dad doesn't have to drive me downtown at 5am. KUDOS to my mom and dad who come and stay with my kids every year - and bonus shout out to my dad who always drops me off and picks me up at the end. You guys are rock stars and I am SO thankful for you!!).  Where was I?  Oh yes, Saturday morning I walked about 3/4 a mile from my hotel to the start line. (Metro isn't open that early. And I never stay at the event hotel so I can't ride the shuttle. But - you always need a good warm up before the start, right?!) I dropped off my gear and met up with Jessica. I signed the pillar.

Washington DC Pillar at the start line

Refilled my Gatorade bottle. And then we waited for the event to start. There's always an opening ceremony. (I learned after year 1 to walk with kleenex handy at the beginning). We learned how much money the participants raised ($4.5M!). We met some amazing walkers & crew. There was the 27 year survivor who raised over $102,000 this year. And this was her 10th walk!  There was the man who lost his wife, but thanks to clinical trials like the ones supported by the funds we raise, she was able to see their daughter get onto the kindergarten bus before she died. There were more - so many more. Stories of survivors and families and friends. Sisters and brothers. Moms and Grandmas and kids. It's really emotional and completely overwhelming. And we were all there because we're In It to End It.   And then we all joined hands - we're all connected in this fight for a cure.  And then after we were all sobbing (ok, not all of us, but a LOT of us, me in particular) they played some awesome peppy music and we hit the road.   Walking through the city is a great way to see the sights. And early on a sunny morning when the city is still sleeping just made it that much more spectacular.  Like this glow on the Jefferson Memorial.

And then the clouds cleared. So by the time we hit the Capitol, it looked like this:

And then we made it to mile 9. Last year, two of Jessica's BFFs walked with us. This year they were our greatest cheerleaders. So at mile 9 (which was actually the same spot on the road -- new route this year -- that Jessica and I met a few years ago, Stacie and Michelle went out to breakfast at a restaurant along the route. They requested a window seat so they could cheer for us. And they got the whole restaurant involved. WOOOT!  Here's the sequence of events as we walked by:

we hear the banging on the windows

we run up to the window like hooligans (action shot)

cue awesome pose of happy walkers

 And then we walked on. White House? check. Georgetown? Check. NBC Studios? Check.  Sock Monkey? Magic bust bus? check, check.

Mile 26 (end day 1)?  CHECK! Started around 7am, finished around 5pm.


After I reached the end of day 1's route, I hung out in the wellness village. Dinner was pasta, veggies, salad, bread and BROWNIES. Shower trucks were provided so we could clean up. And then visit the medical tent (treat my one blister) and the massage therapist - hooray for a free massage!. And then it's "camping out for a cure" night. There are tent angels who set  up the tents for us. My tentmate this year was a lovely woman named Nancy and this was her first walk. She's walking for her sister.  Lights out around 8:30 and we were all tucked in our pink tents. I am not kidding, this is one of my best nights of sleep all year. Love being outside. (As long as all the campers remember to not slam the porta-potty doors in the middle of the night. That's the worst noise EVER.  Sunday morning came early, even with the early turn in Saturday. Took down the tent and headed across the field for breakfast: eggs, frenct toast, home fries, fruit, and the best oatmeal I've ever eaten. I look forward to the oatmeal every year.  I don't know how they make great oatmeal for 2,000+ people, but I am thankful.

We hit the route at 7:30 and began the journey to the end. Included Embassy Row and a trek by the National Cathedral.  (of course no pictures of that this year!).  Jessica and I hit some tough miles from 6-9 on Sunday but powered  trudged through it together and then our second (or was it 4th by now) wind kicked in. The last few miles actually went by quickly and before we knew it we were at the end!

Thanks to Jessica for walking alongside me for every single step. And to Stacie and Michelle and the hundreds of others who cheered us on. Thanks to the crew who kept us fed, filled our water bottles tirelessly, and kept the streets safe for our walking.  We could not have done it without you.

Thanks most of all, though, to the fighters. The survivors. The men and women who battle this disease every day. May you continue to bravely soldier on. May you ask for help when you need it and may there always be someone there to lend the hand you need. Until the day we see a cure, I am proud to keep walking for you.  For the more of us who walk, the more of us survive.

 
Click here to see the flickr photostream with a ton of photos from the event taken by the camera crew)

PS
A few fun facts about the weekend:
in the 10 miles of the Avon Walk, across all the cities, the walkers have walked more than 5.9 million miles to date. And eaten more than 248,000 graham-cracker-PB&J sandwiches.  I account for 157 of these miles and at least 20 of those sandwiches over the past 4 years.