Tag Archives: Atlanta

Atlanta Coaches’ 3-Day Highlights

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You already know coaches Karen, Libby and Susan from your Atlanta 3-Day team. They are the group who have been (im)patiently waiting for our walkers and crew to begin their 60-mile journey this weekend. And they will be welcoming everyone with open arms!

As you get your final preparations, training and packing done this week, they’re giving you more to get excited about. From favorite spots on the route, to their most prized memories, to their “must-visit” Atlanta spots, the coaches are sharing their personal 3-Day highlights.

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Coach Susan

Favorite memories of 3-Days past

Coach Susan: Walking in the pouring, freezing rain in Atlanta in 2008! Plus, working with Youth Corps for 2 years! And of course, all the laughing…so much laughing. More than the moments, it’s the community that I look at with gratitude and fondness. I’m grateful that I can be a part of something that brings out the best that humans have to offer.

Coach Libby: I have lots of favorites over the years but seeing friends and family connect with participants at the Closing Ceremony gets me every time.

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Coach Libby

Favorite parts of the 3-Day this year

Coach Karen: I am looking forward to reconnecting with walkers who I haven’t seen in a few years. It will be great to get a big hug and catch up! Then, on the route, I love Virginia Highland. I lived there when my kids were little and it is such a fun, diverse and creative place to live.

Coach Susan: I love the areas around Decatur and Emory on Day One, the beautiful Buckhead homes on Day Two, and I love the Vinings area on Day Three. I’m also looking forward to a new Closing Ceremony site along with a new Day Three route! Everyone, including 20-mile walkers will get to enjoy our all new Day 3 route this year! We’ll be walking through parts of Atlanta that we haven’t been through on the 3-Day before.

Coach Libby: This year we are walking through Vinings and I am excited to see what walkers think out such a cute area of Atlanta! I also love the new route and closing at SunTrust Park – Go Braves!

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Not-to-miss Atlanta spots

Coach Susan: I love the Atlanta Beltline! We are big baseball fans in our family, and the new stadium is great (Go Braves!). I love eating at some of the unique Atlanta places. Table & Main in Downtown Roswell is one of our favorites!

Coach Karen: I love to eat, and my favorites right now are Miller Union, The Optimist and Bacchanalia. For local favorites, I love Mac Magee in Roswell and Murphy’s in Virginia Highland.

What are looking forward to most on the Atlanta 3-Day? Tell us in the comments!

Meet Your Atlanta 3-Day Coaches

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The 3-Day is heading south to Atlanta this weekend, and we are ready for another sunny 60 miles with all our amazing 3-Day walkers and crew. Part of your Georgia welcoming committee will be your amazing Atlanta 3-Day Coaches: Karen Odell, Susan Wynne and Libby Riordan. These ladies have been preparing all year long to host another fantastic weekend for our 3-Dayers, so before you put on your tutus and lace up your walking shoes, we wanted to help you get to know them better.

The first thing you need to know about Libby, for example, is that she is “is rock solid, she knows her stuff and conveys a sense of confidence while being completely approachable and helpful.” That’s according to Coach Karen!

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Coach Libby (right)

If you ask Libby about herself, she will also let you know that she would choose Mexican food all day long, and that she listens to FloRida when she needs extra motivation on her training walks and other work outs. She has been involved with the 3-Day since 2005, when she applied for a job on our team one month after walking her first 3-Day.

“It’s been a long journey with a community that I am lucky to call family!”

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Coach Susan

Coach Susan joined the 3-Day family not long after Libby, walking her first 3-Day in 2007 in honor of one of her closest friends, whom she had lost to breast cancer. She still walks in other 3-Day cities to this day!

When she’s not 3-Daying, she is craving Mexican food and sushi, and listening to The Lumineers and The Avett Brothers. They might not seem like the traditional “pump up jams” to some, but she says they’re still her favorite to train to.

Coach Karen says Susan “makes our participants feel as if they’ve known her forever and she is a great resource for any question.”

Susan echoes that same love when talking about Coach Karen, saying, “Karen is so thoughtful and dedicated to making our participants have the best experience possible.”

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Coach Karen (center)

Karen says that is she could have one superpower it would be to have “the ability to always know the right path in life,” and if you want to make her dinner, make sure to bring the seafood! She loves halibut, scallops, lobster, mussels and more!

Through and through, these ladies are a fun and enthusiastic group who are anxiously waiting to welcome everyone to Atlanta next week!

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Coach Karen (left)

Karen describes their coaching team as “supportive, cohesive, and thoughtful,” and Susan says they all work their hardest to “connect with our participants and crew on such a personal level and truly care about our 3-Day family.”

Who wouldn’t want to spend a weekend with these women?!

 

Meet the 3-Day Team: Karen Odell, Atlanta Coach

We are lucky to work with some of the best in our 3-Day family. From coaches to volunteer coordinators to event planners, we are always working to make your sixty miles the best they can be! With that in mind, we are highlighting some of our amazing team members each month, so you can get to know the people working to help you every day.

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Our 3-Day rock star of the month is Karen Odell, a new coach for our Atlanta 3-Day. She will be out and about in the community, working with our amazing participants to help bring new walkers and more awareness to the Atlanta 3?Day this year.

Karen has just re-joined the 3-Day team working with a lung cancer non-profit, and she is very happy to be settled in with the Atlanta 3-Day team.

“I love the nature trails along the river. We have several miles of hiking that take you along beautiful hilly stretches and lead to lovely views of the Chattahoochee River!”

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The trails are perfect for 3-Day training for Atlanta natives, and walkers from all cities should keep an eye out for Karen on the event.

“I am looking forward to reconnecting with participants and volunteers who I haven’t seen in a few years. It is wonderful to see how many are still engaged with the event!”

That includes Karen herself, who became involved with the 3-Day after realizing she had a true passion for cancer research fundraising. She then turned that passion into her daily work, and now focuses her work “to drive registrations to the best of my ability, to connect and communicate with participants on a personal level and to ensure that the event experience is of the highest standard.”

Have a question or a concern? Don’t worry! Karen says the 3-Day is “easier than you expect,” and encourages first-time walkers, potential walkers, and even veterans to reach out to her.

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“We are available to coach and mentor you through the journey and have the tools to make sure you succeed. I think when we have the opportunity to meet face-to-face and introduce new participants to our seasoned veterans, they are put at ease and realize this event is something they can do!”

That support also helps participants to create their own experience as they trek those 60 miles.

“The 3-Day is unique for each participant because everyone comes to it with a different perspective and world view. When they arrive on event, all the training and hard work culminate in an experience that unfolds as uniquely their own. Although the experience is shared with many, each person creates their own personal journey.”

Want to know more about Karen’s journey? Offer her a trip to Greece or some seriously good seafood, and she just might tell you! These are a few of the Southern girl’s favorite things, along with tunes by Florence and the Machine, The Eurhythmics, Paul Simon and Prince.

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Plus, if she ever needs a new career, she could always be a chef or an actress! She earned a culinary degree, and was also an extra on Saturday Night Live before joining the 3-Day team. So, when you see her on the Atlanta 3-Day, feel free to tell her a joke or share a recipe, as well as asking any of your questions about the 3-Day.

See you in Atlanta!