Meet Your San Diego 3-Day Coaches

If you’ve been following along with your San Diego 3-Day coaches on social media, you already know they’re a pretty fun group who love working together! But you can expect more than just smiling faces and lots of laughs with coaches Amy Schwager and Staci Roos, and Event Planner Meredith Parker! Before our California 3-Dayers arrive at our final Opening Ceremony tomorrow, here are some things you need to know about your hard-working San Diego coaching team.

They are here to support your every step…

They have been looking forward to seeing the smiling faces of all the San Diego participants since the Closing Ceremony last year! Staci has been emailing and talking on the phone with all of you for weeks and can’t wait to put a face to each of your names.

Coach Amy at right

Amy is also waiting with open arms for her 3-Day Crew to arrive!

“I’m so excited to see the smiling faces of my crew. It is a magical feeling when you are surrounded by people who desire nothing more than to give all that is asked of them and so much more. We’ll also be welcoming new Crew Captains to the amazing Sand Diego Crew Captain leadership team!”

And they support each other too!

The love is real for this group of women:

Amy does “magical work with our awesome crew,” according to Staci. “They arrive with great energy, inspired to serve and sprinkle love to the walkers and their fellow crew members.”
Meredith loves ice cream, pumpkin chiffon cheesecake, and “has an easy-going personality that makes you feel comfortable instantly,” says Amy. She also is the ultimate problem solver, taking on all the challenges and exciting aspects of planning a great 3-Day route like the pro she is!
Staci has an “ability to emotionally connect with her walkers and develop deep relationships” that Amy admires. “She is always always ALWAYS finding the time to support our participants in order to make sure they are successful with their fundraising and training, so they ultimately end up having the opportunity to experience the magic of the 3-Day.”

Coach Staci

Keep an eye out for them throughout the weekend – They can’t wait to meet you!

The 3-Day is personal to them

Staci and Amy have long been involved with the 3-Day family, and each of them have a personal reason for working hard for this cause all year long.

Staci says this weekend allows her the opportunity to “honor the memory of my mother in law, Grace Lennon Roos. I get to honor the many survivors I’ve come to know. I get to do work every day that empowers people to have an impact on a cause that is near to their hearts. I get to hear people’s stories and connections to this cause and learn of their passion for making a difference.”

Amy honors and welcomes all our 3-Day participants with her trademark enthusiasm 😊

“The 3-Day weekend is magical. On the 3-Day, you will experience something that defies explanation. You will be challenged, inspired, pushed harder and appreciated more than you have ever have before. It is a magical feeling and I wish I could bottle it up and sprinkle it all year long!”

But they sure know how to have fun

From beach boardwalk to celebratory hilltops, the coaches will be celebrating San Diego all weekend long!

Their favorite spots for the route are:

The top of Torrey Pines
Waves crashing along Sunset Cliffs
Sunrise at Mission Bay
All our lunch stops

But more than any photo op, they are excited to shower all the participants with love.

Coach Amy says, “I can’t wait for everyone to feel the love of the 3-Day community. The 3-Day is a beautiful example of what happens when you allow love to rule over everything you do.”

2018 Philadelphia 3-Day Route Preview

The Philly 3-Day is coming up this weekend, and it’s going to be an amazing three days for walking, having fun, and making memories. Our whole 3-Day team can’t wait to host our walkers, crew, volunteers and supporters for a wonderful weekend together! This year will be full of changes for our Philadelphia 3-Day family and Event Manager Melanie Toner is giving us a sneak peak of what to expect!

“All three days are brand new! Their order is new, and most of the routes are new as well. We’re thrilled about the changes!” Melanie enthuses. “We’ve tried hard to highlight new areas of the city with this updated route. You’ll see different parts of the city each day.”

Those route changes start on Friday morning with the Opening Ceremony, which will take place at our home hotel: the Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing.

Melanie says, “We’re taking what is normally an outdoor event and putting it in the Grand Ballroom of the hotel. There will be elements unique to Philadelphia because it will be our first-ever indoor Opening Ceremony.”

After the Opening Ceremony, walkers will head west across the city through historic Philly to University City. We will pass Independence Hall early in the day, which will be a great way to start our walk. Walkers will then go through Rittenhouse Square; which Melanie promises is gorgeous!

From there, the new route takes walkers out to Fairmont Park, with the “Please, Touch!” Museum which will be fun for all. It’s also a great place to recommend to family members who might be coming into town to support their 3-Dayer and looking for something extra fun to do.

From East Fairmont Park, walkers will head back towards the Hilton and go into Penn Treaty Park along the river. They’ll also cross Strawberry Mansion Bridge, a beautiful location and Melanie’s favorite photo spot of the day!

After Day One, walkers will return to our new 3-Day camp at the Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing. Camp is indoors this year, and the extra comfort that provides will be the perfect end to both Friday and Saturday’s walks.

“We will still have the 3-Day Lounge, the massage chairs and all those camp elements that everyone loves! You can expect to have communal dining and all the magic of 3-Day Main Street. You will have everything you love, but with controlled temperatures and all the perks and comforts of hotel life,” says Melanie. “We think our walkers and crew are going to love having the hotel showers, cushy beds and TV options to come home to after enjoying all of 3-Day camp.”

You might not want to leave your comfortable bed on the morning of Day Two, but it will be worth it!

There will be lots of similar sights to those in years past, including walking from the Hilton across the city, with a stop right in front of the Philly Museum of Art. That means you can kick off Saturday with a photo op at the Rocky statue!

Walkers will then head along the Schuylkill River with a lunch stop at Bala Cynwyd Park. This was our past lunch stop in 2016 and will be a beautiful and relaxing spot. Plus, it gives a sneak peek of the Philly suburbs.

After lunch, walkers will make their way back towards the Hilton through Belmont Plateau, where you’ll see some of the best views of the city skyline! 3-Dayers will also walk through the Philadelphia Zoo, though it will be along a different route than in year’s past, so you will make lots of new furry friends!

After another cozy night back at your hotel, Day Three will begin with a walk through Elfreth’s Alley, which has some of the oldest homes in Philly – and even the country. It’s very historic and beautiful! Franklin Square will be another stop for more American history, which you can find all weekend long.

Melanie advises, “Look out for blue placards on buildings and statues! Those denote a historical site. They make it easy to brush up on your American history as you walk!”

There will be a pit stop at Clark Park, and then walkers will loop back across the city, enjoying the Italian Market, plus both Pat’s and Geno’s Philly Cheesesteaks. Choose your favorite…or have both!

The second half of Day Three is very similar to last year and the Closing Ceremony will be in the same location at The Navy Yard. From there, we will be celebrating three glorious days, and 60 difference-making miles under the Philadelphia sun!

2018 Seattle 3-Day Route Preview

The weekend is almost here! The 3-Day is heading to the West Coast and taking Seattle by storm! As we gear up for three days of More Than Pink family, fun and inspiration, we are excited to debut a few changes to the Seattle 3-Day route this year. Event Production Manager Ann Love is giving us the details on everything we should look forward to…

Our 2018 Seattle 3-Day begins as we have in years past: At Seattle Center, on the North Fountain Lawn. This iconic spot is perfect for photos and will leave everyone very inspired as we start our journey. We will be exiting Opening Ceremony differently though, as we will be starting our new route right away!

Ann says this new route on Day One is “shorter and flatter, which should excite anyone who has done Seattle before!”

We will be heading north out of the city, and cross Lake Washington via a recently opened pedestrian bridge. This walkway is wider and has better barriers for safety.

We will then walk through Medina, which we have never walked through before. It’s a really cute neighborhood with lots of charming houses.

Ann is most excited for this!

“I am definitely excited for everyone to experience this day! You’ll see some great parks and residential spots.”

After that, walkers will come into Bellevue for lunch, in the same spot as last year. From there on, the route is very similar to past years. We will be passing through some of the same parks, but we will have a different route to get into camp.

Camp will still be at Marymoore Park, but in a different section this year. So, we will enter camp through downtown Redmond. Camp won’t have pavement this year, so we will be on a field, which will be more comfortable!

“Camp is easier to navigate and laid out in a big semi-circle. It’s just a great spot to end the day!” according to Ann.

The Day Two route is pretty similar to last year, going through Redmond and Kirkland.

“Most of the day will look very similar to people who have done the walk before! But we made some changes, so it won’t be repetitive. There will still be lots of parks, and one of the parks is even hosting a local event so keep an eye out for fun Seattle festivities.”

Day Three will start off with a bus ride to the University of Washington to begin the day on their beautiful campus. From there, the route is pretty much the same as in years past, but walkers will see a few different parks!

We will be walking around the perimeter of Woodland Park Zoo and walk right next to the Woodland Rose Garden. If you want to stop and take photos, it’s open to the public and free!

Ann says this is a “great spot for photos! It’s so nice and just a fun spot! It’s one of my favorite spots on the whole route.”

From there, walkers will come to Gasworks Park, where the local Seattle Susan G. Komen Affiliate’s “Row for the Cure” event finish area will be set up again. So, we will have the chance to mingle and get to know each other!

Walkers will then head along Lake Union and have lunch at South Lake Union Park. As you leave lunch, you will be walking back to the city through all of the Amazon buildings. There are lots of shops here and it’s a fun Seattle staple.

We will then come to Pike’s Place Market, which is another well-known Seattle spot. Stop for photos and see the throwing of the fish (or make a detour to the first Starbucks!) but don’t linger too long… We’re almost at the end of the day!

Walkers will then make their way along the waterfront for a little while. After pit stop 3, we will turn back towards to city and come back through one of the older sections of Seattle.

The 3-Day will finish back at Seattle Center and the Closing Ceremony is at Memorial Stadium once again. There is no better place to celebrate another amazing 3-Day weekend! We can’t wait to see you all there!