Flash Sale for 20-Mile Walker! Register for Only $20!

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After the Fourth of July holiday, we could all use a pick-me-up to add some excitement to the rest of our work week. Luckily for you, we have one!

Today only (Thursday, July 6, 2017), use the code 20FOR20 when you register as a 20-mile walker for the Michigan 3-Day, and your registration will only be $20!

Every action?big or small?makes a difference in our fight. So even if you can’t walk all 60 miles in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, you can still make an impact as a 20-mile walker! Walk for one day, 20 miles and meet the people who are ending breast cancer. Use code 20FOR20 through 11:55 p.m. CT tonight at The3Day.org/20mile.

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This is the perfect opportunity for new walkers, or for those who can’t make the full 3-Day walk this year. Come and join our 3-Day family in 2017!

But you don’t have to take our word for it! Our Michigan coaches and the whole 3-Day team love our 20-mile walkers, too! Here’s why they want you to join us for this 1-day, 20-mile, amazing experience.

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“The 20-mile walker program can be just the beginning for you,” promises Gina Guerreso, Michigan Crew and Volunteer Coordinator. “The beginning of your own fabulous 3-Day journey, the beginning of taking part in the magic of this event. Every mile counts and makes a huge impact in our fight against breast cancer. I guarantee that once you experience the 3-Day, you’ll be back for more!”

Michigan 3-Day Coach Heather Snyder seconds that.

“This is the chance to get in on this inspiring event. A 20-mile walker can experience the 3-Day magic in a condensed manner, while still enjoying so many of its greatest moments.  I equate the 20-mile option to a day at an amusement park. From start to finish, that is totally possible!”

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Philadelphia 3-Day Coach Tisho Jessop also sums it up perfectly.

“I’m a huge fan of the sampler platters of life (buffets, cruises, drink flights) so what I love about 20-mile walker is the ‘test drive’ nature of it. It’s the perfect opportunity to try out the 3-Day. First, you get to learn how to fundraise and train. Then you get just a taste of the support we have out on the route, the fun we have in camp, the emotions in our Closing Ceremony and most importantly you get to meet our amazing 3-Day participants. All in 24 hours! It’s an awesome way to dip your toe in and see how remarkable this event really is.”

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“The 20-mile walker option is great for many reasons. For people who work or have unavoidable commitments on Friday or Saturday, they have the freedom to join us on Sunday and experience the final stretch of the 60-mile journey amidst a very determined community of walkers,” says Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day Coach Gayla Cruikshank.

“Some people don’t realize that they can walk 20 miles in one day. This feat gives their feet the chance to prove they can! Also, fundraising $750 for a one-day event isn’t as daunting as raising $2,300 for three days. Either way, telling your donors you’re walking 20 miles in a day, whether it’s for one day or three days in a row, will inspire them to give generously.

“Once you walk your first 20 miles, you’ll be HOOKED and ready to sign up for all three days.”

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Are you signed up as a 20-mile walker? Tell us in the comments!

And don’t forget to register today for the Michigan 3-Day as a 20-mile walker using code 20FOR20 through 11:55 p.m. CT tonight at The3Day.org/20mile. $20 for 20 miles, and you can make a world of difference in the fight against breast cancer.

 

Meet Dennis Kirkpatrick, 3-Day Route Safety Crew Member

Escorting last walker

“There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything was a miracle.”- Albert Einstein.

That quote lies below Dennis Kirkpatrick’s name as his email signature, and no quote could more perfectly sum up the impact he has made on the 3-Day. His official role is Route Safety Crew Member, but he also considers his job to be the “giving the walkers a ‘hard time’ person, hug giver and receiver.”

After greeting his wife at the finish line of her first 3-Day he knew he had to find a way to participate, too. He saw how much fun the crew was having together, all while keeping 3-Dayers safe and giving to a great cause. He decided to join the 3-Day as a crew member the next year.

Family time when Sandy and Carol were walking

The 3-Day is now a family affair as his wife continues to walk, and his daughter supports the walkers as well.

“I love to watch my wife figure out the route (before and during) the walk.  I love working with my daughter taking care of the walkers while making them smile! We are working together for a cause which helps to bring us closer as a family.”

For those who are interested in joining the crew alongside Dennis and his family, Dennis says,

“If you like having fun and meeting very interesting people, come join us.

If you like to hear good stories of fun and encouragement, come join us.

If you like to hear about bravery and why supporting the 3-Day is so important, come join us.”

Dennis on his motorcycle heading to next stop

Dennis says he loves the combination of working with and seeing the same, familiar 3-Day faces each year, while also adding new faces to the walk! The 3-Day is “tiring, fun and inspiring,” but that’s what keeps him coming back year after year.

“It takes a lot of people behind the scenes to make big events work.  We are a team that works together!”

Dennis and Sandy (Daughter) going for a ride

If you want to join the 3-Day crew alongside Dennis this year, you can find out about all the opportunities on our website. We’d love to have you!

Now tell us, what are some of your favorite Crew memories from 3-Days past?

Meet Lisa Partner, 3-Day Walker- and Breast Cancer Survivor

June is National Cancer Survivor Month, and is an excellent reminder of the strength, power and optimism we see from survivors on the 3-Day, and in all our own lives.

Race Pic 2012

We’d like to introduce you to Lisa Partner, a 3-Dayer and training walk leader from the Powered by Optimism team in San Diego. Lisa is a 12-year metastatic breast cancer survivor who has raised more than $23,000 for the 3-Day since her first walk in 2007.

 

Lisa found a lump in her breast when her daughter was only three months old, and after many doctors’ visits, tests and more, was finally diagnosed in early 2005. Her daughter was only 18 months old. From her initial discovery to her diagnosis, she admits that “cancer never really was in my thought process,” but it soon became a part of her everyday life.

Survivor Cred

A few months after her first surgery, Lisa explains “It was found that my cancer had spread to a single rib on the right side of my body. I was then restaged as metastatic. Due to restaging I will be on Herceptin indefinitely. After pondering my thoughts for a few months, I decided to have my right breast and ovaries removed.”

That initial reconstruction did not go smoothly, but Lisa has since seen more success with following reconstruction surgeries. Through it all, she has remained strong for herself and her family. Marianne Masterson, San Diego 3-Day coach, has sung Lisa’s praises for that immeasurable strength.

“Not only has Lisa confronted the trials associated with surgery and treatment, but also the stark odds that her daughter may be growing up without a mother. Lisa’s attitude was to do everything possible to stay alive to ensure this didn’t happen.”

Hug Lady

When she was able, Lisa joined the 3-Day in 2007, and since then has become an active participant, partaking in the Survivor Circle in 2010 and 2015, which she said was a “highly emotional” Experience. When talking about how being a survivor has affected her 3-Day experience, she explained,

“This is going to sound silly, but the walkers make me feel like a rock star. Funny, right?  Survivors are looked at as heroes, even though I don’t feel like one.  […]  Just the fact that so many people join together for a single cause is astounding.”

That feeling of community includes walker stalkers and other San Diego locals, who Lisa says are some of her favorite parts of the walk each year.

Mile 59 2016

“It is unique in that there are so many people coming together for a singular cause. And our community support here in San Diego is bar none!  We have the best city!”

Marianne summed it up best when she said, “Lisa is as dedicated to the cause as she is dedicated to living. She fully embraces living in the present and to me embodies everything the 3-Day represents!”

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If you want to make a difference for a breast cancer survivor, or help someone battling breast cancer in your own life, Lisa says it’s very simple; just be present.

“Be available to listen, offer a positive attitude, and offer to do grocery shopping, house cleaning, cooking meals.  Anything so that the person can focus on getting well.”

That is something Lisa focuses on every day. We are honored to have her in our 3-Day family during Cancer Survivor Month, and always.