Anyone who has walked in the San Diego 3-Day knows of the route’s infamous population of hills. The peaks treat San Diego walkers to some really breathtaking vistas and views of the Pacific Coast, but getting to the top can be grueling sometimes. Yesterday on Day 1, walkers conquered the notorious Torrey Pines hill, and Day 2 has its share of hefty inclines, including a doozy between the 5 and 6 mile marks. We positioned ourselves at the top this little slope and asked walkers how they felt at the top. The positivity of (most of) their answers surprised and delighted us!

“It’s a beautiful hill.”

“Way to wake us up!”

“Best hill of the day.”

“Was that the best you guys could do?”

“Not bad! I don’t mind hills.”

“Awesome, love it every year!”

“Not long enough!”

“I loved it, we need more!”

“Nice hill! We’re from Seattle, that was a nice hill.”

“Fantastic. Can we have another?”

“We love it! Good one!”

“You’re the devil…” (But she was smiling when she said it, so we take that as a positive!)

“Loved it! Same as last year. Still steep.”

“Can’t wait to do more in a few minutes. I’m thinking about going back down and doing it again.”

“Better now that we’re at the top!”

“That was a good little warm up.”

“The down side is worse than this.”

“We rocked that hill!”

“What hill?”

“I did not feel anything, I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“I’m gonna hitch a ride down with a sweep and do it again!”

“As long as we don’t roll back down, we’re good!”

“Bring it on!”

“Whoever put this on the route, we’re gonna hurt…” (Can we just put that down as a good-hearted, harmless threat?)

“Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!”

And finally, an adorable couple approached, holding hands, and we asked if they held hands the whole way up. “A good part of it. We were kind of dragging each other.” Sounds like teamwork at its best!

Congrats and thank you to ALL of the San Diego walkers on all of the peaks you’ve conquered this weekend. Can’t wait to do it all again with you (including more hills…) tomorrow!