The 3-Day: Atlanta Style

Saturday night’s Camp Show said it all: from the choir Shades of Pink to the dance party that just kept going, the Susan G. Komen 3-Day^® in Atlanta this year was one good time after another. The Crew of more than 300 volunteers gathered before the event and very early on Friday morning to make sure the kickoff at Stone Mountain was just perfect. A chilly but dry morning blossomed into a beautiful sunrise as more than 1,000 walkers stretched, did Zumba, and cheered to the launch of a 60-mile walk that would raise over $2.9 million for breast cancer research and local support. Many first-time walkers enjoyed the inspirational Opening Ceremony and over 100 men joined the Komen 3-Day in Atlanta this year!

“Playing it cool” was the name of the game as walkers circled Stone Mountain through the large production set and onto the streets of Clarkston, Avondale Estates and Decatur. A large group of Bank of America employees at Pit Stop 3 cheered walkers who had started to feel the pains of the challenging walk. “No one said anything about those first hills!” smiled one walker when I asked how the day was going. Cheering stations in Decatur and possibly one of the most adorable group of pre-schoolers near the Clarkston First Baptist Church kept spirits high as participants finished the 21.6-mile day at the World Congress Center in Atlanta. Shelley Middleton gave a moving speech that night at the camp show and the Milestone Award was presented to Beth White for her eight years of dedication to the 3-Day®. She has personally raised $65,600 to date and counting! What an inspiration for the fight against breast cancer.

Day 2 rained on and off, enough for walkers to don ponchos on the 19.3-mile route through the northern areas of Atlanta. The Youth Corps once again provided some entertainment at lunch in the Buckhead neighborhood, and the cheering stations, including the Komen Greater Atlanta Affiliate were just awesome. The much anticipated Shades of Pink Choir (made up of 18 breast cancer survivors) rocked the house while the walkers and crew dined after the long day, and an impromptu duet of “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” (Martina McBride) by two of the younger walkers made the evening a musical delight. Joe Moore, a co-survivor, and Melissa Traylor, a young survivor, reminded the large crowd of why we all work so hard. After the great camp show, things didn’t slow down. A dance party to rival any 3-Day Dance Party exploded with the Youth Corps leading things off!

Day 3 included a 15.3-mile route through Atlanta. The walkers enjoyed especially sunny and cooler weather and a great sunrise as they moved through Piedmont Park and Freedom Park. The Woodward Eagles cheerleaders entertained at a private station near Emory University. Walkers and crew finished the route at Turner Field to the cheers of family and friends (and two wedding proposals!) and celebrated the fight against breast cancer through a program of remembrance of lost loved ones and an appreciation of the survivors of breast cancer. The Survivors’ Circle gathered to raise the flag: “We Will Never Give Up!”

What is your favorite memory of the Atlanta 3-Day?

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS

The Virgin Walkers of Atlanta

“I was just hearing about breast cancer all the time as a stylist,” said Sandy, a hair stylist in Mobile, Alabama. She called up her best friend Elizabeth to propose walking the Susan G. Komen 3-Day^® to raise money for breast cancer research.

“I said ‘no’ at first!” recalled Elizabeth, while they both rested at lunch in the suburbs north of Atlanta on Day 2. They laughed despite some aches and pains, but seemed to be enjoying the walk, having finished more than 30 miles total. “I am doing the walk for my grandmother who passed away: today would have been 94 years old!”

The two women are among a large contingent of first-time Komen 3-Day walkers here in Atlanta, Georgia. They walk a total of 60 miles over three days and have each raised over $2300 for breast cancer research and awareness. In the 3-Day community, they are often playfully dubbed “Virgin Walkers.” After a full 21 miles on Day 1, and 19.3 miles on Day 2, they are ‘newbies’ no more. Elizabeth and Sandy are lucky to have someone else to walk with, but many show up to walk the challenging course without knowing anyone. ‘Riding solo,’ these brave souls often meet other teams and individuals to walk with.

Kathryn and Gloriela get ready for Day 2 on the Atlanta 3-Day

Gloriela, originally from Panama and living now in Atlanta, met up with another first-time walker, Kathryn, on the route on Day 1. “Opening Ceremony was so inspirational,” mentioned Gloriela at breakfast at the start of Day 2 in Atlanta. “I love the organization of the whole process, and I love the motorcycles and bikers who help keep us safe. They dance, turn on music, and cheer for us.” Kathryn remembered her sweet friend who passed away from breast cancer about the same time her son was born. They felt better having met each other and found someone to walk with!

Jasmin, Brailey, Alex, and Krista stop in Piedmont Park (with unidentified photobomber-walker)

Some first-time walkers are initiated into teams that have been walking for awhile. “Oh, he’s hurting. He’s hurting real bad,” laughed Krista, Jasmin, and Brailey about their new recruit Alex. Their team, Project Perk, was founded four years ago by Jasmin who started walking to honor her grandmother. Krista then got Alex to join the team who had made the comment, “It’s just walking!” On Day 3 in Piedmont Park, he laughed, agreeing that he was hurting. The team was in good spirits, though, and looked to finish the 60-mile route strong.

Jennifer and Lorie, two first-time walkers on the Atlanta 3-Day, stopped long enough to sum up the event: “Twelve girls, eight blisters, three days, two trips to the medical tent, and one great event.” Their supportive team was decked out in pink wigs on the last day of the event and were cruising along.

Jennifer and Lorie are first-time walkers embedded in their supportive team

First-time walkers are well loved on the 3-Day, and even if they are alone when they start, they are soon swept up by a team and made one of their one. The spirit of the 3-Day is that everyone wins and that everyone does the best they can! See you at Closing Ceremony at Turner Field!

Let Lindsay Inspire You

Lindsay rests during the Susan G. Komen Washington, D.C. 3-Day event

When I first saw Lindsay R on the Susan G. Komen 3-Day^® in Washington, D.C. this year, she was sitting quietly in the corner of an outside building at a lunch stop. It had been a very long morning for the 60-mile walkers, and Day 1 of the Komen 3-Day was turning into a deluge. Soaked to the core, Lindsay had joined the rest of the walkers under the protection of a roof as they changed into dry socks, ate lunch, and bandaged blisters.

And no one complained.

Lindsay seemed shy as I stole a picture of her, the pink of her outfit matching the pink of the large flag she was carrying in the rain, which read “COURAGE.” Many of the walkers choose to carry flags along the route, but I was distracted and did not get to ask her about why she was walking. Day 1 of the Washington, D.C. 3-Day ended with rain on top of more rain, and the walkers, Lindsay included, plowed on the streets for Day 2 and the second leg of 20 miles. It wasn’t until the camp show on Saturday night that I realized my first impression of Lindsay was misguided.

Lindsay takes the stage to tell her story on the Washington, D.C. 3-Day

“My name is Lindsay and I am a survivor!” Lindsay had the attention of hundreds of people in an instant. “On Friday, April 13, 2012, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.” The audience was fully present as she described her ordeal of trying to find help. No one believed that she could have cancer, and her frustration seemed to have boiled over. “I felt so incredibly alone in my situation. It was one of the darkest, loneliest times of my life.” She told of her connection to another 3-Day family member, Bridget Spence, whose words gave her the “ability to keep hope alive and to live life, really live life.”

Lindsay inspires the crowd of hundreds at Saturday’s Camp Show

Her voiced boomed through the darkness in the Washington, D.C. night as the electrified crowd jumped to its feet. “CANCER WILL NOT BE THE END OF ME! Let me say that one more time. CANCER WILL NOT BE THE END OF ME!” To punctuate her attitude, she joined the crowd in the celebration of searching for a cure for breast cancer by dancing into the night. The experience of seeing her soul open as this transition from quiet, courageous walker to powerful advocate for hope was inspirational to the core.

From all of those fighting for a cure for breast cancer, we salute you Lindsay! Thank you for your inspiration!