Meet the Michigan 3-Day Coaches

Each Susan G. Komen 3-Day® event has a core team of three coaches, each of whom plays a different role in helping our walkers and crew members prepare for the Komen 3-Day. For months, these dedicated staffers have been having personal conversations with walkers to help them with their training and fundraising, have hosted dozens of local events to bring participants together and build a community of encouragement, and have organized and inspired the amazing team of crew captains and crew members.

Let’s meet the coaches for the Michigan 3-Day® event!

Jennifer Hanskat – Michigan Participant Coach

susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk blog meet the coaches michigan jennifer

Jennifer (left) with a fuzzy friend

Describe what you do in ten words or fewer. – “Answering all things 3-Day-related on a daily basis.”

The Michigan 3-Day is coming up soon. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “We are less than one month out from the start of the Michigan 3-Day and my days are most definitely interesting. I answer a lot of phone calls and emails about preparing for the event and donations, especially matching gifts. I am also the designated 3-Day coach for our Series walkers [participants walking in all seven 3-Day events] so it is not unusual to hear from these folks as well, mostly with logistics questions.”

What are three things we didn’t know about you? “1) I was incredibly shy in high school, a total wallflower; 2) I have been up in a hot air balloon twice; 3) My grandfather had a special nickname for me: Sally Weird. And that just about sums it up!”

Ann Love – Michigan Local Events Coach

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Ann sharing a silly moment with her family

Describe your job in 10 words or fewer. – “I recruit walkers, supporters and businesses to paint the route pink! (Oops, that’s 11 words…I lose…)”

The Michigan 3-Day is coming up soon. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “My typical day, at this point, is spent talking to friends and family who want to support their participants, contacting businesses to solicit in-kind donations for our walkers and crew, talking to participants who are interested in taking on a larger role within our ceremonies and camp show, and approaching neighborhoods and businesses along the route to encourage them to show their support as we walk by.”

What are 3 things that we didn’t know about you? – “1) I’m a science nerd. I have a bachelor’s degree in marine biology and a master’s in environmental science; 2) I’m also a huge geek. Talk Star Wars or Star Trek to me and I will be your new best friend; 3) In “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”, I am a 4.”

Gina Guerreso – Michigan Crew & Volunteer Coordinator

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Gina and her sweet little man

Describe your job in 10 words or fewer. – “Honored to work with amazing Michigan Crew Captains and Crew. OR Spreading joy and being supportive to the amazing Michigan Crew. (I couldn’t decide!)”

The Michigan 3-Day is coming up soon. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “My days are jam packed as we get closer and closer to kicking off the 3-Day season in Michigan. On a typical day I have a growing pre-event ‘to do’ list and lots of communication with Crew Captains and Crew. I am also working to finalize certain parts of the All-Crew Kick-Off. I am also your girl for all questions related to host hotels and tenting (for all events, all participants) so it’s a big juggling act, but I am blessed to have a supportive network of co-workers and friends.”

What are 3 things that we didn’t know about you? – “1) I am a reality television junkie (Real Housewives of New Jersey anyone?); 2) I have worked on 3 different 3-Day events in past years: Arizona, Chicago and now Michigan; 3) I secretly love to dance and think it would be fun to be on Dancing with the Stars. Too bad I am not a professional dancer or a celebrity!”

The Michigan coaches are looking forward to seeing and meeting the fabulous walkers and crew members in just a few weeks. Seek them out and say hello!

Next week, we’ll introduce the Twin Cities coaches, so stay tuned!

3-Day Camping Hacks

Last week, we shared some walking hacks for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, and if you thought those were good, wait until you see what tricks are up our sleeves for making your Komen 3-Day camp experience easier and better than you imagined it could be.

1. Everyone’s bags tend to look alike when you go to claim them at camp. Make yours stand out by tying on a colorful scarf or marking it with vibrant duct tape.

We might suggest a color other than pink; not that we don’t love pink, but if everyone uses the same color, it kind of defeats the purpose.

2. Pack each day’s clothes (including socks and underwear) in a separate 2 gallon Ziploc bag.

This makes it easy to find the day’s clothes in the morning darkness of your tent, and gives you a bag to put your dirty clothes in, keeping them separated from everything else in your bag. Pack your lounge wear for camp, PJs and extra undies in bags too, and bring a couple extras.

3. Instead of taking up space in your luggage with a pillow, just bring a pillow case filled with clean clothes you’re going to wear.

4. A yoga mat makes a great sleeping pad.

It also takes up less room (in your luggage and in your tent) than an air mattress.

5. Bring single servings of toiletries in straws. This hack takes a bit of work (see the how-to here), but every little bit of luggage space and weight counts!

6. Worried about travel-size shampoos and lotions leaking in your bag? Put some plastic wrap over the opening then screw the cap back on.

7. If you use the 3-Day towel service, instead of pitching your towels into the bin immediately after you use them, take them back to your tent and use one as a doormat.

Save the other to put on the floor of the shower stall tomorrow for a makeshift bath mat. Then put it in the bin.

8. If your feet/legs hurt at the end of your day of walking, you can use your duffle bag as a foot rest to keep your tootsies elevated during the night.

(This method works well if you’re sleeping on a flat camp roll or yoga mat…not so well on an air mattress.)

9. 1-inch binder clips are the perfect size to clip around the cross-poles of your tent.

Use them to secure the rain flaps open, to fasten a tarp or plastic sheeting over the top, or to attach tent decorations.

10. If you dread the thought of disrobing from your PJs in the cold morning air, get dressed in the next day’s clothes before you go to sleep. You’ll wake up toasty warm, and may even snag 5 extra minutes of shut-eye because you’re already dressed!

Got any good 3-Day camping hacks? Let us know in the comments

(Thank you to first time San Diego walker Kenzie D. for modeling these hacks! Oh, and here’s what happens when you leave your camera unattended with your teenage model… )

Join us for a 3-Day Tweet Chat on August 5 – All About Packing!

The very first Susan G. Komen 3-Day^® of the year is rapidly approaching, and we’d love to hang out with you on Twitter and chat about packing. What should you bring to the Komen 3-Day? What should you leave at home? Seasoned 3-Day walkers know there are a few secrets to success for packing (like the magic of Ziploc bags!), so let’s share our best tips and strategies for packing your gear (and sticking within that 35-pound limit).

Join us on Tuesday, August 5 at 6:00 p.m. PDT (9:00 p.m. EDT, and 8:00 p.m. CT) for a Tweet Chat all about packing. Never done a Tweet Chat before? That’s okay! Some people call them Twitter Parties or Twitter Meet-Ups, but whatever the name, it works like this:

Sign on to Twitter at 6:00 p.m. PDT (or a few minutes before).
Make sure you’re following @The3Day on Twitter.
On Twitter, search for #The3Day, which is the official hashtag we will use for this Tweet Chat.
You can also use the website com. Sign in, enter the hashtag #The3Day, and you’ll be able to watch and tweet in real-time with us.
We’ll ask some questions to get things started, and we will also share tips and tricks from 3-Day veterans and coaches. This will be a great way to meet your fellow 3-Day participants, ask your questions, and motivate yourself to keep your training on track. Our 3-Day Social Media Team, Alyssa and Erin, can’t wait to tweet with you!

Not on Twitter yet? Here are a few quick tips to get you started:

It’s free and easy to join at com.
Go to twitter.com/the3day and click “Follow” to make sure our messages show up in your feed.
A hashtag is a way to “file” tweets and collect them under a certain topic, so you’ll be able to see everything everyone is tweeting under this hashtag. Just search for #the3day in Twitter and you’ll be able to see everyone’s messages about the 3-Day, not just ours.
When writing your own messages, keep in mind that tweets can only be 140 characters at a time, so it’s best to keep things short n’ sweet.

If you can’t make this Tweet Chat, you can always search #The3Day on Twitter to see all of the tweets that came from this Tweet Chat. Do you have any questions? Ask here, and remember, the 3-Day coaches are only a phone call away at 800-996-3DAY!

The 3-Day Blog

Monthly Archives: July 2014