Congratulations to the 2019 Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day Milestone Award Winner, Pat Spring

Please join us in congratulating our 2019 Dallas/Fort Worth Milestone Award Winner; Pat Spring! 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 Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day camp show, we presented Pat with this special honor.

It is certainly well-deserved! Pat is a much loved member of our family, and her dedication to the 3-Day in unparalleled. Her friends say she loves Chardonnay, the outdoors and her dogs. She also “will run circles around everyone” during her 3-Day training.

We learned more about her 3-Day story, and the secrets to her fundraising success, from Pat herself. When she answered these questions, she didn’t know she’d soon be our Milestone Award Winner!

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

In 2006, I was an 11-year survivor, having been diagnosed in 1995 at the age of 49. My good friend, Kay, was diagnosed and underwent a mastectomy in May of ’06. I kept seeing the 3-Day promotion on TV and every time, I would tear up! I talked Kay into signing up and then had no choice except to sign up myself! We walked in Dallas that year and then in Boston in 2008. I was hooked!

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

This year will be my 14th walk and I will turn 73 shortly after the Dallas/Fort Worth event – that’s not really old compared to some of the other folks, right? I have two daughters, three granddaughters and a daughter-in-law whom I love dearly. I am determined to do what I can to change the future for them if at all possible! I am the fourth generation in my family to have had breast cancer, and my daughter-in-law’s mom is also a survivor, so you can understand my motivation! The fabulous results of the Susan G. Komen Foundation work is what brings me back year after year. The advances in treatment and early discovery have been so encouraging! There is absolutely no possibility that I can stop as long as I am able!

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

My fundraising success comes from a fabulous network of friends and family! Just ask! Facebook Fundraising has been phenomenally successful, and I am blessed to have several teachers in the family who sponsor PINK OUT WEEK at their schools, with the fundraising results being contributed to the 3-Day in my name. I live in a small community, so we don’t have a lot of businesses to call upon for donations, so these alternatives have worked well for me. I send out letters every year and have at least a 90% response! Old school – snail mail! You have to appeal to the targeted age-group. E-mails work better with the younger crowd!

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

Train, train, train! I use the training app and follow the schedule as closely as possible! Get fitted for shoes at a running shop and buy the best shoes you can afford! Got to take care of those feet!

What’s a fun fact about you?

I love to water ski, and my dream is to hike the Appalachian Trail – soon! LOL! Running out of time!

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

The most important lesson the 3-Day has taught me is that we are stronger than we realize, and we are capable of helping so many others. By our dedication to the cause of eradicating breast cancer we can give women hope and the knowledge that others care deeply for them! We CAN make a difference when we come together! I love that we can!

Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day Route Preview

Lone Star State, we are coming for you! We are so excited to be heading to Dallas/Fort Worth next weekend. We know that Susan G. Komen’s home city is going to be out in full force to support us for this 60-mile walk. Event Planner Eileen Barnick has been preparing all year to make this coming weekend the best 3-Day possible, and she can’t wait to share the route and some new updates with all our participants.

We will begin at Tostitos Championship Plaza at The Star, home of the Dallas Cowboy Headquarters, for the second year and Eileen says everyone should be pumped for a “high-energy celebration” to start our Friday!

“There will be a lot of oomph! It’s such an exciting place to show off the 3-Day spirit.”

After that, the excitement continues as the first five miles have SO much! It’s a great kick-off to the weekend that includes a walk down Star Boulevard (the Star’s entertainment district) towards the Football Huddle sculpture. Once we leave The Star the walkers will enter the beautiful Hall Park, Frisco’s office park, home to many land and water sculptures. Photo ops will abound! From there, we are on to Frisco Central Park where you can take pictures with the bronze cowboys and a herd of stampeding cattle.

Eileen is also pumped to be able to walk through the Dr Pepper Ballpark, home field of the local Frisco RoughRiders, again this year. They’ll be pumping music and really getting the walkers excited. It’s a really fun atmosphere and the whole Dallas/Fort Worth local team is so happy to be able to return there again.

Other Day One highlights include Plano and the corporate headquarters of many large companies including Bank of America, as well as a beautiful trail walk through Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano. We will have a leisurely lunch at Timberglen Park in Dallas and visit the beautiful suburbs of Carrollton and Addison on our way back to camp at Brookhaven College. So much, all in the first day!

Eileen notes that Friday is the longest day, but it’s still the same length as it was last year. Saturday and Sunday are shorter so walkers get the longest day over first, and Eileen promises that even though it’s long, Friday will be loads of fun.

“There’s nothing not to love about Day One. We didn’t change any of the route because people loved it so much. We can’t wait!”

And then comes Day Two, which has large parts of brand-new route. Saturday starts with a short bus ride to Trinity Groves at the Ronald Kirk Pedestrian Bridge. As walkers cross the bridge, they will enjoy beautiful morning views of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and downtown Dallas. The pedestrian bridge also has all kinds of fun details and games you can play as you cross. Just make sure to stop and take in the lovely skyline views!

From the bridge we will head into downtown past many famous landmarks, including The Grassy Knoll, Sixth Floor Museum and Dealey Plaza. These are such important, iconic parts of Dallas history.

Walkers will continue to enjoy their morning on the popular and picturesque Katy Trail, as they head towards the beautiful towns of Highland and University Parks. These two historic towns feature some of the most beautiful scenery and architecture of the weekend. From the gorgeous homes to the relaxing parks, our walkers will really enjoy this section of the route.

We have a new lunch spot for our halfway celebration at Curtis Park in University Park, and after lunch we will wind through the neighborhoods and business districts of Dallas as we reach the City of Farmers Branch and a fun evening at camp at Brookhaven College.

Eileen says, “We’re spicing up what people have come to expect from Day Two! It’s an extra punch of fun in the weekend!”

Day Three is also brand new and will introduce walkers to two suburbs we’ve never walked in before: Allen and McKinney.

“We will be able to enjoy the trail systems there,” Eileen enthuses. “We always get requests for more time on the trails, and we really tried to accommodate that request for this year.”

The day begins with another short bus ride to Allen at Watters Creek. Through Allen, walkers will be treated to both beautiful neighborhoods and relaxing trails.

Having two bus rides in the weekend allows us to have a different Day Three route from Day One, even though we are ending where we began, back at the Tostitos Championship Plaza at The Star.

As we return to the Star, we will walk through a different part of Frisco than we walked in on Friday morning so the views will be all new and exciting.

Then we will end with a bang at Tostitos Championship Plaza at Tostitos Championship Plaza at The Star! Eileen is especially excited about this new location for our Finish Line Festival and Closing Ceremony.

“Since we will be walking through Cowboys country on Sunday during football season, there will be a lot of people in the area and it will be a nice large welcome! We expect to have a lot of community support around there!”

Overall, Eileen says everyone will have a lot to look forward to next weekend.

“Three very amazing days await! We are so excited to show new parts of the Dallas/Fort Worth area and be able to add more trails to the walk as well. I can’t wait for everyone to see it!”

We’ll see you all soon!

A Note About Saturday’s Route

Due to the recent tornadoes in the North Dallas area, we are making changes to the second half of Saturday’s route and do not have the route cards to share with you just yet. We will give you a route card at the Opening Ceremony with the latest route information and the map of your journey will be updated as soon as possible. Please be flexible with staff, crew and city jurisdictions and understand these changes are being made for the safety of our participants as well as out of respect for the communities where homes, businesses and property have been destroyed.

2019 Philadelphia 3-Day Wrap-Up

Over the weekend, hundreds of walkers, Crew and supporters gathered to celebrate the Susan G. Komen Philadelphia 3-Day. We were so honored to return to the East Coast, especially during Breast Cancer Awareness Month to bring more awareness to our mission, and the whole Philadelphia community came out in support of this goal.

Our weekend began inside the Grand Ballroom at Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing, where hundreds gathered, ready to take on the fight against breast cancer. The sun rose as our Opening Ceremony kicked off with speeches from our local participants, as well as our Bank of America partners. Then, our local survivors and those living with metastatic breast cancer led our walkers out into the fall morning.

We had perfect, cool fall walking weather for our first day, which began with walks through Penn’s Landing and Rittenhouse Square. Our first pit stop was at the beautiful Penn Park, marking 3.3 miles down already for the weekend.

The Please Touch Museum was a beautiful landscape for pit stop 2, and then we made our way over the Concourse Lake Trail in the afternoon. After a quick stop at the Rodin Museum Grounds, walkers arrived back home at our hotel camp! We enjoyed 3-Day BINGO, the Bank of America massage chairs, and comfy cozy beds to end Day One on a high note.

Day Two dawned bright and cool again, for another gorgeous day of walking. Right off the bat, walkers passed the Liberty Bell, and then at the first pit stop, our Philadelphia 3-Dayers ran the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Arms raised in the fall sunshine, they celebrated the first of many exciting moments during the day.

The celebrating continued at lunch, thanks to our new Halfway Celebration. We danced, took photos, and relaxed after 30 miles well-walked. Mark especially had a ball leading everyone in the 3-Day flash mob.

In the afternoon, we continued our walk throughout downtown Philadelphia, making everyone’s favorite stop at the Philadelphia Zoo. Giraffes, flamingos, zebras, eagles and more all came out to cheer on the Philadelphia 3-Day! Soon after, walkers again arrived home at our host hotel.

On Saturday night, we hosted an emotional Honor Ceremony, recognizing the loved ones we walk for, as well as honoring the last 15 years of the Philadelphia 3-Day. Everyone ended the night with joy and a new purpose. Philly was all ready for Day Three!

Sunday started off beautiful, with a walk down the historic Elfreth’s Alley to start our morning. Walkers loved snapping photos and taking in the history of this famous street! The photo ops continued after the first pit stop, when we went down Cheesesteak Avenue, and everyone had to pick a side: Pat’s or Geno’s. The walkers remain divided on their cheesesteak choice but united in their goal to finish Day Three!

The rain held off until lunch, but even a little liquid sunshine couldn’t stop these amazing walkers! They passed through Rittenhouse Square and the beautiful 30^th Street Station before entering University of Pennsylvania’s campus at the end of their journey.

Our Closing Ceremony was held at Shoemaker Green on the Lawn at Penn for the first time, and despite the rainy weather, it was still a picturesque and wonderful spot to celebrate 60 miles! Walkers crossed the finish line with smiles and hugs all around.

The Closing Ceremony was jam packed with friends and family waiting to celebrate our courageous walkers and crew. Together, we raised $1.7 million toward the fight to end breast cancer. Philadelphia, thank you. We are so honored and grateful for everything you have done for our 3-Day family over the years.