Tag Archives: 3-Day

Congratulations to the 2019 San Diego 3-Day Milestone Award Winner, Betsy Sears

Please join us in congratulating our 2019 San Diego Milestone Award Winner; Betsy Sears! 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 San Diego 3-Day camp show, we presented Betsy with this special honor.

Betsy has been walking in the 3-Day since 2005, most often alongside her friend and team captain Lindsey Bock. Lindsey captains their team, The Ta-Ta’s from KC, and says the whole team is “blessed” to have Betsy on their team.

Lindsey says, “Betsy is so deserving of this recognition for her contributions and commitment to the 3-Day because she is SO busy with her job (she travels all of the time), visiting New Jersey to see her sweet granddaughters and spending time with her adorable Corgi dogs and husband, she STILL makes it a priority to fundraise for the 3-Day. She is an inspiration to all who know her and a loving, caring, sweet, funny and amazing person!”

Their fellow teammate, and Lindsey’s mom, Caryn Firebaugh echoes Lindsey’s love for Betsy, saying, that she “is such a special person and important part of our team. She blesses us on each step of our 60-mile adventure!”

Now let’s hear from Betsy in her own words…

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

My inspiration was friend and current team captain Lindsey Bock. She was moved to join the walk after an aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. She invited me to walk with her. I walked that first 60 miles in memory of my mother-in-law who died of breast cancer many years ago.

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

The diagnoses of friends and family members continues to motivate me – and the desire to make even a small difference with the funds our team raises. I am so inspired by the hundreds of other walkers “all in” for the same reasons.

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

I have the most incredibly supportive and generous friends, family and clients . . . AND my employer, Quest Diagnostics, that has a phenomenal matching program.

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

High quality socks and good walking shoes are very important components of a successful blister-free 60 miles. But the most important element is the camaraderie with amazing team members who love and support each other (and like to talk about food, recipes, and fun facts for 60 miles!)

What’s a fun fact about you?

Early in my career in the clinical field, I drew blood from both Bess Truman and Faye Dunaway.

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

You can persevere through any pain and discomfort; it’s not cancer. Despite any hardships in life we might endure, there is always someone worse off who needs our support and encouragement.

2019 San Diego 3-Day Route Preview

Our final 3-Day of the year is coming up this weekend, and we are so excited to be kicking off the 2019 San Diego 3-Day. As Friday fast approaches, we are giving you a sneak peek at our 60-mile route, which will immerse everyone in the stunning sights of San Diego and celebrate the final walk of the year.

Event Manager, Meredith Parker walked her first 3-Day in San Diego years ago, so she (along with all your San Diego coaches) is very happy to welcome all of our participants next weekend. She has big plans for a great weekend ahead!

That starts with our Opening Ceremony, which will once again begin at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. This spot has become a favorite for participants and supporters alike, and we’re excited to once again kick off our journey here.

Day One is very similar to last year, which means that participants need to lace up their shoes for the infamous Torrey Pines hill at the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve!

“Anybody who has ever spent time in San Diego or Torrey Pines knows it’s the most serene piece of coastline. When people I know are visiting the city, I always recommend Torrey Pines. It’s just breathtaking,” Meredith enthuses.

We will also be making our way through Del Mar, which is always so welcoming to our walkers! After lunch at the picturesque Kellogg Park, we will enter La Jolla and spend Friday afternoon walking through the area, including passing Pacific Beach.

Meredith loves that part of the day, saying, “I love walking through La Jolla and going past La Jolla Cove and the tide pools. It’s another spectacular piece of coastline.”

We will finish the day at our outdoor camp site at Crown Point Shores, which has been a wonderful location for the last several years.

“Where else can you camp and get a water view?” Meredith smiles. “It’s the cheapest and greatest waterfront view you can get in San Diego. It’s just so beautiful and a wonderful environment for us all to be together.”

It will make for a cozy spot to spend the night after our first 20 miles. ?

Walkers can then expect some changes on Day Two. After listening to participant feedback from last year, we have worked very closely with the amazing San Diego Police Department to make some updates to Saturday afternoon that we think people will really enjoy.

Because of these updates, our lunch location is now in Bonita Cove! We are very excited about this spot, but Meredith wants to make sure that walkers know that lunch will now be a little later in the day on Saturday. So, be sure to fuel up at breakfast and at the Pit Stops throughout the morning on Day Two.

After lunch, walkers will start seeing those changes as they go along Ocean Front Walk, which will take them through South Mission Beach. In years past, we have stayed along Ocean Front Walk for much of the afternoon, but instead, we will be finishing up Saturday with a walk on Sail Bay. This provides new views and more excitement throughout the afternoon before we come back to camp.

Meredith is most excited for our final Honor Ceremony of the year when we all return to camp on Saturday night. This impactful experience is a new part of the 3-Day this year, and everyone from coaches to participants to family and friends have really appreciated the addition.

“It brings us back to the heart of why we all participate in the 3-Day together,” Meredith explains.

Sunday morning will dawn bright and sunny, bringing walkers to the Northern section of Ocean Front Walk as they make their way through Mission Beach. The boardwalk will be a fun and exciting way to kick off Day Three!

Other highlights include the Juan Street hill, which always leaves walkers with a great feeling of accomplishment — and some serious selfie views — when you reach the top!

In addition, walkers will have the option of crossing the Quince Street Bridge before entering Balboa Park. If you’re scared of heights, we will have shuttles on hand to drive you around, but we really encourage everyone to take advantage of this new portion of our walk!

Our Finish Line and Closing Ceremony will bring our 60-mile journey to a close, once again at Waterfront Park.

We will still be on the West side of the park, which gives us beautiful views of North San Diego Bay. Meredith loves the updates we have made to this final celebration for 2019.

“We have been making changes to make sure this is as an immersive and engaging and intimate Closing Ceremony as possible. We want to close out the year as one big 3-Day family!”

We are so excited to celebrate with San Diego all weekend long and end our 2019 3-Day season making committed strides together towards a cure for breast cancer. Let’s go!

2019 Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day Event Wrap-Up

This past weekend, the 3-Day headed to Dallas/Fort Worth, the home of Susan G. Komen! We had three sunny fall days of fun, and all our walkers and crew were smiling from ear to ear when they crossed the finish line after 60 miles.

Our journey began at the Opening Ceremony at Tostitos Championship Plaza at The Star. For the second year in a row, we were so excited to start our walk at this iconic Dallas landmark. Walkers, crew and supporters alike all loved posing on The Star, seeing photos projected on the jumbo screen behind our stage, and watching the sun rise to start our 3-Day.

The Opening Ceremony itself featured a welcome from our partner Bank of America, as well as emotional stories from local participants who talked about why they commit 3 days. Then, our breast cancer survivors and those living with breast cancer led our walkers out into the morning sunshine with arms raised and smiles wide.

The first few miles of the walk were packed full of photo ops and smiles! Walkers made their way down Star Boulevard before passing through the much-loved beautiful Hall Park and Dr Pepper Ballpark, home field of the Frisco RoughRiders. It was a chilly fall morning, but our walkers stepped into the sunshine together. They also passed Bank of America headquarters, where hundreds of cheering supporters were waiting to show the 3-Day some love. And all this before pit stop 2!

During lunch at Timberglen Park, we met the inspiring Dallas/Fort Worth Youth Corps! They were a source of smiles and fun all weekend long. ? Then, it was on to the second half of the day! We walked through Carrollton and Addison before arriving back home to our camp at Brookhaven College in Farmer’s Branch.

Though it was a chilly night outside, our walkers opted to snuggle up and camp in the pink tents they knew and loved. After a fun night of BINGO and dancing, not to mention taking on 21.7 miles during Day One, our walkers all slept soundly under the fall night sky.

Day Two included some changes to our route due to the recent tornado in North Dallas, but our walkers and crew all adjusted in order to support the amazing local communities. We are honored by their resilience, and our fantastic local team was able to put together an updated route that was still chock full of fun and enthusiasm.

Saturday began with a short bus ride to the Continental Bridge Gateway Plaza to cross the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. The views of the downtown Dallas skyline were perfect, just as the sun rose on another wonderful day ahead. From there, we walked through downtown Dallas, passing iconic spots like The Grassy Knoll, Sixth Floor Museum and Dealey Plaza.

We then gathered together for our Halfway Celebration, complete with everyone’s new favorite flash mob dance! Mark and the Youth Corps got everyone moving and grooving under the Texan sun!

We then made our way through relaxing patches of nature including Cole, Curtis and Glencoe Parks. From there, walkers returned to Brookhaven College for our emotional Honor Ceremony. This heartfelt and uplifting end to our day left all the participants inspired to take on Day Three with renewed passion.

Daylight Saving Time gave everyone an extra hour of sleep, so we arrived bright eyed to our morning bus ride to Allen, Texas. We spent the majority of the morning in Allen and McKinney, where there was plenty of community support and cheering stations. By lunch in Harold Bacchus Community Park, walkers and crew members were all taking in the sunshine and having fun as one big family.

As we closed out our Sunday, we walked through a different part of Frisco than we have in the past, so the views were all new and exciting. It was the perfect, exciting end to our weekend journey.

The Finish Area Festival was back at Tostitos Championship Plaza at The Star, where our final walker of the weekend kicked off our Closing Ceremony! We were thrilled to announce that our 550 amazing Dallas/Fort Worth walkers and 175 fantastic crew members had raised a staggering $1.5 million in the fight against breast cancer! Thank you, Dallas/Fort Worth!