3 Days - 60 Miles - 1 Cure

Okay my post is going to be LONG and is long past due and I could claim that it took me a week to recover from the Event but I'd be lying so I'll just admit I'm lazy! Anyway I give you the run down, we had to be at Freestone Park by 6:30 am to check in and then Opening Ceremonies started at 7. They talked about Susan G. Komen for the cure and why we were walking and all that motivational kind of stuff then let us out on the road. It was a little anti-climatic because it took so long for us to get out of the park and on route but it was fun anyway and I was glad Mike & his brother Rick brought the kids down to see me off. We walked through Gilbert and then into Chandler and ended up in Tempe where camp was for the night. My dad, my sister Shelley and her family, my sister Heather and her baby, and my friend Liz & Claire and their kids all came out and met us along the way to cheer us on! It was so fun to see people we knew along the route! That night we got into camp and there were a thousand pink pup tents set up for us and the brought in these semi trailers that had showers in them and had a really good spaghetti dinner that night. We went and saw the sports medicine people and got put back into shape and then got ready for bed. Mike and his Dad brought the girls down to camp to see me that night which was nice! Lights out was at 9pm and we were all ready way before that but it was funny because as soon as the lights went out it was silent! I can't think of any other place where you could have that many women together and not have it noisy all night long with talking and giggling, I guess walking 20 miles one day and knowing you have to get up and do it again the next takes it all out of you!
Saturday we walked through Tempe, the beautiful town of Guadalupe (little mexico) around South Mountain and through the Awatukee Foothills. My sister Shelley came and walked with us all day just for fun! My sister Joanna had to cut out a little past 1/2 way because she had like 6 blisters and it hurt too much to walk so she rode the bus back to camp in hopes that she would be able to walk on Sunday. Mike and the girls also came out and met us along the trail to cheer us along and the other walkers thought they were so cute in their pink shirts dancing on the side of the road! There were a lot of hills that day and it was pretty tough on me the last 5 miles especially, by the time I got back to camp I was so sore and had 2 blisters and was ready to call it quits but after a shower, another trip to sports med, and eating I was feeling better and by the next morning felt way better and was ready to take on the last day.
Sunday we had to pack everything back up and take down our tents and then hit the road. We walked through ASU, Papago Park, Phoenix and Scottsdale. When we finally made it to the end we were in a holding area waiting for the last walkers to come in and then they lined us all up and had to walk and another 1/2 mile to the stadium where they were having Closing Ceremonies! They had us grouped as crew, walkers, and survivors so Joanna walked in together but my mom was with the Survivors group! We all marched into the stadium and the survivors came in last and we all held up 1 shoe in their honor! They told us that from the 2200 walkers, 310 of which were men, we raised 5.2 million dollars! It was very emotional to be apart of this whole thing but also knowing we were able to bring in that much money that will go to help others like my mom with better treatments and hopefully a cure so they don't have to suffer at all was an amazing feeling.
It was long and hard but having people cheering us all along they way made it a lot more fun and more bearable. People honked at us all day long as they drove by, there were people out just in their driveways cheering us on through their neighborhoods, Schools had signs out and the kids on the playground cheered for us, we had our families come out in support, we had our regulars that we saw all day everyday along the route with signs or dressed in crazy outfits or just honking and blaring music as they drove up and down. It was amazing all the support we had and they were all thanking me for walking and sometimes I would get choked up and thank them just for coming out to support us. My mom did the best of us all she walked every step of the way without one blister she has always been an inspiration and here is just one more example of her tremendous strength! Over all it was a wonderful experience and I would recommend it to anyone if you don't mind a little hard work but it is worth it in the end. Thank you all for all your love & support. I truly couldn't have done it without you!