3-Day Besties, Tracie and Kristin

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We say it often, but the 3-Day truly is better with friends. It’s a journey that we all take together, but having your bestie by your side for the 60 miles makes the journey even more fun. Sunday is International Day of Friendship, so it’s the perfect time to ask a friend to walk with you this year! If you need more reasons to convince your best friend to walk with you, we have two: Tracie Audifferen and Kristin Naour Duvall.

These two ladies have been walking the San Diego 3-Day for five years, and, after meeting on a training walk, they’re now also best friends!

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Tracie began walking years ago, after a sorority sister was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer.

“I had always seen the commercials, but this was someone who made it real for me,” she says.

In her second-year walking, she joined the Powered by Optimism team, where she met Kristin.

Previously, Kristin’s connection to the 3-Day came from supporting her mom, aunts and cousins who all participated. She began walking in 2012, initially planning to only walk for one day. She joined Powered by Optimism and changed her mind one hour into her first training walk.

“It was the most fun day and most fun walk ever! I knew I couldn’t miss out on this, and immediately changed my status from walking one day to all 3 days!”

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From there, both she and Tracie were hooked members of the Powered by Optimism team. So much so that they were both, separately, driving 25 miles each way to the team’s training walks. Until they met each other…

“We were commiserating about the drive to the walks, and both were looking for someone to carpool with! And all this time we were driving the same streets!” Tracie explains.

“We really got to know each other through driving to our training walks!” Kristin echoes. “It was early mornings, and we were all exhausted on the way there, and then on the rides back we would pop a couple Pepsis and be goofy and fun!”

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From there, the friendship grew. Tracie credits her friendship with Kristin for bringing her out from the sadness of losing her sorority sister.

“Kristin is just a light, and I am like a moth to that light. She was instantly engaging and joyful and spirited. It took me out of the sadness of why I was walking to be with this person who is just joyful!”

Tracie continued, “I was blessed to find a brand new friend in the midst in that sadness! Over the past almost 5 years, our friendship has just grown. Komen was always the hub, but outside of that, our friendship grew. Everything else were just spokes to that hub.”

That hub is reinforced every year that they walk the 3-Day together.

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“You have over 2,000 people in San Diego, but if you’re walking with a friend, you can allay any fears and concerns you might have about this journey. And on the other hand, you get to experience everything with someone else who knows you!” Tracie says.

“You’re also celebrating! You celebrate in the evening in your pajamas and in the mess hall tent and when it’s 6 am and you’re crawling out of this pink tent but you’re already laughing. You celebrate dealing with blisters and meeting new people, and getting stickers and treats and fun from people along the route. Those memories are so clear, and you get to experience them with friends!

It also makes the fundraising easier, and those days when you don’t want to train easier. Your friends get why you’re involved, and they understand what you need to keep pushing yourself to be better.”

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It also gives their personal friendship new depth, per Kristin.

“Our friendships because of 3-Day are deeper. We share so much on walks that has transferred into our personal friendship off the walk. Those deep connections that you make on the walk, it makes those friendships so much stronger because you have shared the deepest parts of your soul. You share things that you wouldn’t normally share when you’re out walking and you’re tired and vulnerable.”

Both women are looking forward to continuing to share these emotions with each other, and their team mates, on this year’s 3-Day. One team mate will be especially important for Kristin: her new husband!

“This year is really special for me. My mom’s first year, I had just started dating someone, so his first experience with it was my first experience of the 3-Day. Two years ago, right before the 3-Day we got engaged, and last year we got married! He’s been a pseudo member of our 3-Day team for years, and this year he’s walking with us! This is the coolest thing ever! Our team has been on this journey with us.”

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Of course her husband is a special case, but Kristin says this feeling of inclusivity is at the heart of her 3-Day experience.

“That’s my favorite part of the 3-Day: Sharing it with new people. Seeing them see it for the first time is just amazing.”

Tracie agrees, and invites every San Diego 3-Dayer to join their bestie crew this year!

“My goal for our team is, I want us to be the most joyful and magnetic team! I want people who are walking alone or just walking with one friend, I want them to join us. I don’t want to be a team that’s exclusive of itself.

I want our team to be what Kirstin has been to me. To be that light that others are attracted to.”

Kristin and Tracie are both sources of friendship and light for each other, and all they meet on the 3-Day. We can’t wait to see them out on the trail again this year!

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Flash Sale! Save $20 on Registration in June with BYMYSIDE

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With our first 3-Day of 2017 just over a month away, we are getting more and more excited to see you out on the walks! To spread our enthusiasm and make sure all of you can join us, we have a limited time special promotion going on this week.

Through the end of the day on Friday, June 30th, you can use the discount code BYMYSIDE to save $20 on registration. It’s the perfect time to ask your family members, friends, coworkers, neighbors or anyone else to walk with you on the 3-Day this year.

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Why should you ask someone to join you, and register now? Because everything is better with someone by your side.

B Best friends make everything better. Plus, they can help you get some pit stop dance parties going!

Y You know that two tutus are always more fun than one!

M Moms and daughters can walk together! Some of the 3-Day’s most well-known teams are families.

Y Yawn no more! You can bunk up with your bestie in our 3-Day glamping tents for a grown-up slumber party.

S Summertime training will be more fun if you don’t have to log all those miles on your own.

I In case you need someone to help you stretch, get pumped up, or just chat with… you’ll have a partner.

D Distract yourself over the course of the miles with fun games, laughs and songs with your partner.

E Every person that you meet on the 3-Day could be your new best friend, so no matter what, we are all by your side.

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Enter BYMYSIDE when you register this week, until 11:55 p.m. CT on June 30th, and you’ll receive $20 off.

Who do you want by your side on the 3-Day? Send them this link and get them signed up now!

Hooray! Promotion Extension!

Filing taxes is never fun, and it can take a lot out of you. So, if you need a little pick-me-up after all that math and mailing and online double checking, we have a special surprise coming this week.

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Our “Bring Your Bestie” and VIP Slumber Party promotions were set to end on April 19th, but to show our love and support for all our 3-Dayers…we are extending the promotions until April 26th! Hooray!

This means you have a six more days to take advantage of our two awesome promotions for the month. If you need another breakdown of each promotion, we have you covered there as well.

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“Bring Your Bestie”  

Recruit your friends to walk with you this year! We’ll provide a round-trip plane ticket for any out-of-town first-time walker who registers by April 26 with the code BYB17. We want to give new participants the chance to see the 3-Day magic for the first time, especially if they can do so alongside their BFFs. Send your friends to The3Day.org/Bestie to learn more, and help them sign up. This is perfect for long-distance friends who want an extra excuse to get together to walk 60 miles for a great cause.

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The VIP Slumber Party Promotion

2017 is the 15-year anniversary of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, so one promotion wasn’t enough! We wanted to share another opportunity with you all to really get our celebration going! When you recruit two pals, you can get the VIP glamping treatment. If you recruit two first-time walkers by April 26 to join you on the 3-Day, we’ll arrange for you to have a VIP slumber party together on the event. That slumber party will include the use of a large tent that sleeps up to four people, with air mattresses and pillows, plus phone chargers, camp chairs and souvenir 3-Day pajama pants to take home for each member of your party. Talk about a party!

If you don’t want to stay at camp, you can choose a reward of two free nights at a 3-Day host hotel for the Friday and Saturday of the event, instead of the slumber party.

To get your friends on board, first get your personal recruitment link and ID, then help them register. Get all the info at The3Day.org/Refer.

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Just make sure you get moving by April 26! Have you already taken advantage of these promotions? Share your story in the comments or on social media and tag #The3Day