Tag Archives: Atlanta

Meet Your 2018 Atlanta 3-Day Coaches

11200891_10152723270925706_4056474838106386886_n

Coach Stephanie at right

The Atlanta 3-Day is tomorrow, and guess who’s excited? We are! Your coaches, Stephanie and Jen, plus your amazing Crew Coordinator Libby and Event Planner Melanie, have been counting down the days to this weekend for a whole year.

Before we officially kick off the weekend, the Atlanta team is here to share their top tips and advice, toot each other’s horns, and get you pumped for your sunny 60-mile journey.

And there is a lot to get pumped for!

From the Opening Ceremony site at Stone Mountain, which Stephanie promises is “so beautiful and picturesque” to the charming neighborhoods on Day 3 as you make your way to the new Closing Ceremony location, every step is going to be a fun one in Atlanta.

38521694_10156081080334915_405554039271456768_n

Coach Libby (center)

Other not-to-miss sights and experiences?

  • The natural beauty of the park where we will walk our first few miles of the 3-Day will set the stage for a memorable journey. Especially combined with the cool morning air and the energy of our 3-Day participants!
  • Finding all the Tiny Doors…this is a special art project in Atlanta that you’ll have to watch for!
  • Less hills on Day 3 this year ? That’s always good news.
  • The last few miles of this year’s Atlanta 3-Day journey wind through some of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the city with grand southern homes and rolling lawns.
  • And of course, the Atlanta International School, a new and intimate venue for our Closing Ceremony!

There is so much to see and enjoy, but Coach Jen wants to remind everyone to “relax, have fun and live in the moment!”

“The hard part is over – you’ve done the fundraising, you’ve done the training. Now it’s time to lean into it and enjoy the journey! Make new friends. Deepen old friendships. Laugh together. Cry together. And soak up every moment on your 3-Day journey!”

38530621_10156081080774915_7528027060757856256_n.jpg

Coach Stephanie also recommends enjoying the journey with new friends!

“I always tell participants to introduce themselves to people they don’t know on the event. Find out why they’re walking and share your story with them. We really are a great big family and you will meet some of the most amazing people on this event. For three days you will be surrounded by love, hope and inspiration and of course, so many laughs.”

And this team knows something about laughs! They have the best time together and can’t stop singing each other’s praises.

Coach Libby can’t wait to welcome everyone to Atlanta and is even hosting some out of towner staff at her house before the 3-Day! She’s been Coach Stephanie’s “go to gal for all things related to Hotlanta! I love her willingness to lend a hand and get things done and she’s just so much fun to work with.” She also keeps the team laughing and has an extra tight relationship with all the local participants.

1011688_10201147138977257_1973609460_n.jpg

Coach Jen is new to the team, but she’s already been welcomed with open arms. She’s honored to be part of this “incredible team of dedicated professionals in the fight against breast cancer,” and Coach Stephanie loves having Jen’s “calm demeanor, her positive outlook on life, her sense of humor and her willingness to jump in and help wherever needed.”

And that love is mutual! Jen praises Coach Stephanie’s deep desire to “create the best and most impactful experience for our 3-Day participants!” And Melanie loves Steph’s passion and thoughtfulness.

Melanie brings the group (and the route!) together with her “care, honesty, and commitment to the cause.”

11863225_10207558277145219_8915577972287071100_n

Every single member of the team has been working hard and long to make this the best event possible for all our participants. And they can’t wait to show you the fruits of their labor! See you soon, Atlanta 3-Dayers!

 

2018 Atlanta 3-Day Route Preview

22552705_10159496632690392_7059077281426693510_n

We’re taking the 3-Day down South and heading to Atlanta this week! Our whole team is excited to welcome all our participants and know it will be a great three days (or four days for our amazing Crew!). Before we start our 60-mile journey, Event Manager Melanie Toner is giving us a sneak peek at the route, which will feature some fun new changes in 2018.

The Opening Ceremony will once again be at Stone Mountain Park, which is a picturesque and iconic location to start our weekend. We will start along a paved walking path through the park and continue to utilize path trails as we walk through the smaller towns of Clarkston and Avondale Estates. Melanie is hoping this will provide pretty views as well as being easier on our walkers’ feet and legs as they kick off the 3-Day.

22490192_10159496635375392_2417153035507073789_n

While there is abundant shade, there are also some hills, so remember to stretch and hydrate whenever you can. In the afternoon, we’ll continue into downtown Decatur and the hilly, scenic neighborhoods of North Decatur, Emory Village, Virginia Highland. In Emory Village, walkers will pass by Emory University, as well as the Winship Cancer Institute. Keep an eye out for local cheering supporters there!

We’ll finish our day by taking to the urban sidewalks of downtown Atlanta, traveling through the Historic Fourth Ward Park and then will weave through the city to camp at the Georgia World Congress Center. We will have a celebratory night full of dancing, fun, and cozy indoor camping after Day One ends. Melanie is excited to be there to welcome all our walkers home at the end of a great day!

The Day Two route continues to provide us with plenty of shade as we walk northeast towards Buckhead and Piedmont Heights. Then the route will level off slightly through the neighborhoods surrounding Buckhead and go to Granite Properties – the home of the Atlanta Komen Affiliate for a route stop with them!

22310601_10159496652200392_110338146191923184_n

After leaving Granite Properties, we will begin to walk west through Tuxedo Park and Castle Wood, making our way through the Woodfield and Springlake neighborhoods. Trinity Presby Church will serve as a lunch stop and the point where we walk south towards the Georgia World Congress Center.

Atlanta’s Northside Beltline Trail will surely be an afternoon highlight with its old-fashioned train trestle. Melanie encourages walkers to take time to really soak in the experience of that trail.

As we make our way back into the city via Peachtree Street, we are once again walking in urban Midtown before returning to downtown’s Georgia World Congress Center.

22528522_10159496676620392_3887890546802012502_n

Day Three is a favorite of Melanie’s and she can’t wait to hear feedback on the new route!

“We heard feedback from our post-event surveys from last year and we created a whole new Day Three for you with a new Closing Ceremony site! And we think people will be really excited about it!”

The Day Three route heads east through downtown Atlanta, past Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park, his tomb and birth home. Melanie is very glad to be including these highlights again this year.

“We didn’t walk by this area last year, and we wanted to make sure to bring this back. We’re delighted that the new route allows us to walk by these important historic landmarks.”

22527976_10159496641595392_3805664713635855309_n

Trails then take us through Freedom Park before stopping for lunch in Druid Hills. From there, we head north through Virginia-Highland and then west through the gorgeous neighborhoods of Ansley Park before completing the final steady climb along Peachtree Road. It will be celebratory last hill to end the 3-Day on a (literal) high note.

The route on Day Three also goes past two of Atlanta’s Tiny Doors, a public art installation bringing “big wonder to tiny spaces.”

“Definitely keep an eye out so you don’t miss them!” Melanie says. “It’s so fun and a little bit of Atlanta culture that’s going on right now.”

22499292_10159496635430392_4389526703663763570_o

The Closing Ceremony this year will be taking place at the Atlanta International School, which is a fun new location to celebrate the end of an amazing weekend.

Melanie says, “We call can’t wait for participants to see the new Closing Ceremony location and I think it will be just the update everyone is looking for. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner in the school. We just can’t wait for everyone to get here!”

We’re counting down the days, Atlanta! Let’s do this!

Meet Your New Atlanta Coach!

We are so lucky to have great 3-Day coaches nationwide. They work around the clock to share advice, give support, and help you through every step of the 3-Day process. This year, we are excited to welcome a new member to that team: Coach Jennifer in Atlanta!

Coach Jennifer began walking the 3-Day in 2006, and says the event has “changed my life in such a wonderful way!”

She’s ready to make this Atlanta 3-Day a life-changing one for all her participants, too! She has already begun working with the rest of the Atlanta team, laying the groundwork for a memorable event in October.

“What an amazing group of coaches we have working on the 3-Day, especially in Atlanta! Their drive, compassion and love of the 3-Day is admirable! I’m so fortunate to have joined such an experienced and dedicated team!” she enthuses. “The resolve of this team is truly remarkable. There is nothing they won’t do to support me (as a new coach) and more importantly, our phenomenal 3-Day community in Atlanta.”

It is the community that Jennifer is especially excited to engage with this year, as she says the cheering stations (especially ones with children) were her favorite part of the 3-Day when she walked. She looks forward to meeting all the Atlanta participants and working towards achieving Komen’s Bold Goal.

Her personal goal for 2018 is much simpler but is one she wants all participants nationwide to remember.

“I will make my appointment and have my mammogram, then encourage others to do the same. Sure, it’s not fun but the alternative is far worse!

“Knowing the statistics is frightening enough. But it’s getting to know the people affected by breast cancer that has strengthened my resolve to fight. People like Bridget, who lost her battle with breast cancer before the age of 30, and Mary, a close family friend fighting this battle every day in her mid-70s.”

She certainly embodies her favorite quote from Shakespeare, “Though she but little, she is fierce.” We are so lucky to have Jennifer and her fierce drive on our team.

Want to know more about coach Jennifer? Here are some other random facts:

  • My two yellow labs, Maya and Biggs, are my favorite buddies on this earth! I’m happiest during our daily sunrise walks around the lake in our neighborhood.
  • I find organic gardening very cool, although I wish I had more of a knack for it.
  • My career started in the TV newsroom (many years ago!), writing scripts for our anchors morning, noon, night and yes, overnight.
  • When I work out, you’re more apt to find me rolling around on a yoga mat than working up a sweat.
  • I love Excel spreadsheets!
  • These days, my all-time favorite training song is “Raise Your Glass” by P!nk. She’s fun and feisty and kind of embodies the spirit I see in our participants on event! Then of course, there’s her name ?