Congratulations to the 2019 Twin Cities 3-Day Local Impact Award Winner, Kim Williams

For the 2019 Susan G. Komen 3-Day® season, we’re pleased to be continuing the Local Impact Award. This award is being given to participants who have been instrumental in strengthening the 3-Day® community throughout the year. Local Impact Award honorees have gone above and beyond in their efforts leading training walks, attending 3-Day community events, supporting the 3-Day staff year-round at meet-ups and workshops, and in general, making a difference by building lasting relationships and showing commitment to the 3-Day in all they do.

Please join us in congratulating the 2019 Twin Cities 3-Day Local Impact Award Winner, Kim Williams!

Kim has become a vital part of our Twin Cities 3-Day community, going out early to mark the route for training kick-off events as well as assisting with street team day and being an active training walk leader for years. She has also served as a member of the 3-Day Advisory Council for two years.

Her friend Sue Norling says, “Kim and I started our 3-Day adventure way back in 2009. We became friends during those training walks that first year, and the rest they say is 3-day history.

It is now 11 years later and I count Kim as a close friend all year round. We have had a lot of memories to laugh about over the years. I can always count on Kim to help me lead an 18-mile training walk even if she’s going to be on the crew, and does not need to train. She will even fly across the country to crew with me.  Through, heat, rain, re-locations, and travels. She is very deserving of this award, congratulations, my friend.”

We were honored to talk to Kim about what the 3-Day means to her, and what she has learned over the years…

What was your inspiration to do your first 3-Day?   

I had started walking in the Komen Race for the Cure in 2002. In 2008 I found out my mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I felt I had to do something bigger. I ended up going to a 3-day Get Started meeting on a snowy day and have been participating every year since 2009.  At the end of 2019, I will have participated in 15 events.

What has brought you back to the 3-Day year after year?

Besides raising funds for Komen, I have met and worked with a wide range of great people. A handful of them will be lifelong friends.  Because of this, I would look forward to my summers on event in MN.

What is the secret to your 3-Day fundraising success?

Honestly, I am not successful at fundraising. I have been fortunate to have friends and co-workers who are VERY generous.

What is your best advice to anyone walking the 3-Day? 

Make sure you train and follow one of the two training schedules. It is also important to allow time for life and family. When you are on your event, it is okay if you cannot walk all 60 miles. The people driving the sweep and shuttle vans are awesome. We want you to enjoy the 3-day experience and not end up in the medical tent or getting red carded!!!

What’s a fun fact about you?

I was given the nickname of “Falcon” on the 2011 San Francisco 3-Day. If you are afraid of birds, I will shoo them away for you. Also, I was excited to volunteer at camp, crew on a sweep van and finish the 2018 San Diego 3-Day as a 20-Mile walker.

What are the most important lessons you’ve learned on the 3-Day? 

Be proud to wear your 3-Day gear (finisher shirts, hats, buttons, pins etc.) You may run across a stranger who is a breast cancer survivor or has family/friend who has battled this disease. Strangers will thank you for what you do (walking or crewing) and they may even what to give you a hug or a donation. Participating on the 3-Day is not easy and can be exhausting, but it’s a great experience.

Congratulations to the 2019 Twin Cities 3-Day Milestone Award Winner, Cynthia Geye

Please join us in congratulating our 2019 Twin Cities Milestone Award Winner; Cynthia Geye. The Susan G. Komen 3-Day® Milestone Award is given at each event to a walker or crew member who has an outstanding history of participation in the Komen 3-Day. At the Twin Cities 3-Day camp show, we presented Cynthia with this special honor.

Before she left home for the 3-Day this year, we talked to Cynthia about what the 3-Day means to her. She is walking this year with her granddaughter Callie Powers, and walking for Jen, Callie’s mom and Cindy’s daughter. When Callie was born, Cindy had just completed treatment and she told the family that Callie would be her reason to live and keep fighting. Now, Callie is walking with Cindy for the first time, in Jen’s honor.

Jen says that Cindy is “a very positive person, always looking on the bright side, laughing and is totally goofy. She has made this walk her passion and will not stop until we eradicate this disease.”

We are honored to share Cindy’s story, in her own words, below…

Back in 2005, one year after surviving 3 bouts of metastatic breast cancer, my oldest daughter suggested, no, she insisted that we do something big in the fight against breast cancer. She had seen an ad for the Susan G. Komen 3-day Breast Cancer walks. She used every coercive method she could to convince me to walk. I, of course, came up with every imaginable excuse as to why I should NOT walk. But, walk we did (even convinced my younger daughter to join us).

Since then, I have walked every year and every city multiple times. Sometimes with my daughters and many times as a solo walker. This year, I am walking with my granddaughter. This is my 27th walk and each walk is so memorable. With every walk, I meet new friends. We share our stories, our tears, our hopes for the future. We laugh, we cry, and we support one another. Each walk is 3 days full of kindness, caring and commitment.

When I first started walking, there was a song titled “Why We Walk.” The refrain says it all: “We walk to remember. We walk to celebrate…. For those who are gone and those who live on. We honor them all and that’s why we walk.”

You see, God has given me amazing health these last 20+ years and I can use it to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. The blisters, aches and pains are nothing compared to what every cancer patient goes through when we are battling this disease.

As I am a fast walker, I have been told many times that it is not how fast you walk, but, rather, enjoying the 3-Day journey. This is about all the people, not just the walkers.

It’s all the people that come out to cheer us on. The bald women with their signs that say “Thank you. You’re walking for me.”  To know that we are helping them have a second chance at life. Every survivor, no matter where they live, deserve the best possible care.

It’s about the little girls holding their signs that say, “Please find a cure before I grow up.”  To have the color pink be more than the symbol for breast cancer, but rather the color for hair ribbons and prom dresses.

This is not about what you endure while walking – the blisters, aches and pains – it is so much more.  It is what you walk away with – the memories that will last a lifetime.  While my own cancer journey was very scary, not knowing if I would survive, it has ended up as a true gift.  It has brought me many blessings, a deeper faith and a richer perspective on life.  It has brought me to the 3-Day.

Meet Your Twin Cities 3-Day Coaches

It’s hard to believe it, but we’re only days away from our Twin Cities 3-Day! We can’t wait to take this 60-mile journey with all our Minnesota 3-Dayers, and no one is more excited than our 3-Day coaches. As our team makes the final preparations and plans for the 60-mile journey, we thought it was about time that you all get to know our Twin Cities 3-Day coaching team.

Meet Coaches Liz and Heather, our amazing Crew Coordinator Kiki and Event Manager Eileen. They make the 3-Day magic happen year-round, working every day towards this weekend. That means that they spend a lot of time together, and they love it that way. They are each other’s biggest cheerleaders, just like they cheer for you!

  • Liz is the definition of “excellent customer service” and Kiki considers her to be “my Webster’s Dictionary of the 3-Day!” She knows everything and can be your one-stop shop for any questions or needs you have leading up to, and during, the weekend.
  • Kiki is the Crew and coaching team’s best resource — funny and quick-witted and she knows all the right ways to support her Crew.
  • Eileen planned your amazing 3-Day route, and Liz says she “is the master at getting things done.” And, according to Liz, she has a wicked dry sense of humor! Maybe she has some 3-Day puns to share 😉
  • Last but certainly not least, Coach Heather is a new addition to the Twin Cities team, and her fellow coaches describe her as “so full of energy, when she is laughing you cannot help but join in and you can always depend on her for a really fun time.” We can’t wait to see her smiling face out on the route!

Eileen has already given us a preview of just what that route will look like, and some of her favorite spots are:

  • Nicollet Mall where our Opening Ceremony will take place, inside the Hyatt Regency
  • The Nicollet Mall art fest
  • Lake Minnehaha Boulevard
  • Minnehaha Regional Park and Minnehaha Falls
  • White Bear Lake and the surrounding community
  • Stone Arch Bridge

But that’s not all the walkers and crew members can look forward to!

Heather promises “an incredible weekend full of inspiration, laughter, tears, amazing memories, countless hugs, and endless high fives!”

Kiki added, given that this walk takes place in Minnesota, out-of-towners and locals alike will experience everything that the state is known for: “beautiful scenery and the nicest people on the planet.”

To get you ready for all of that, our coaches also have advice to help you in the final days before you begin your journey.

  • Coach Kiki encourages everyone to work together. “Ask for help when you need it and offer it when you think it’s needed by others.”
  • Coach Heather reminds everyone to be in the moment! “Yes, there are many photo opportunities, but don’t miss “being in it” just to see it in pictures later. Be present! Remember, there are so many pictures being taken by those around you, the moment will surely be captured by someone!”
  • Coach Liz echoes that and adds to “be sure to drink more than you think you need, both water and sports drink. There is no rush; you have all day, so enjoy every moment.”

That includes enjoying time at our new hotel camp! Liz says some highlights to especially look forward to are “a great community feel as we gather in one banquet room, a nice comfy bed at the end of the day, and a bathtub!”

What more could you want? How about quality time with these amazing ladies, and all of your 3-Day family? 😊 In just a few days, we’ll all be together in the Pink Bubble…We’ll see you soon!