Tag Archives: Seattle Breast Cancer Walk

Meet Your Seattle 3-Day Coaches

It’s a busy week in the 3-Day world, and our Seattle coaches are hard at work getting an amazing weekend ready for you! They’re excited to bring the 3-Day to the West Coast. If you don’t know them yet, the Seattle 3-Day team is a group of women you’re going to love meeting this weekend! They’re dedicated, enthusiastic, and will be in your corner every step of the way.

That includes Coach Liz, who her fellow coaches call “the goddess of the 3-Day.” She has walked many times as well as a long-time coach and knows the 3-Day experience front to back.

Coach Amy says, “I have never met anyone so dedicated to taking care of our participants and sprinkling her love to make sure every interaction is filled with care. Liz always has a personal story that she can connect to a participant and always makes that walker or crew member feel supported.”

That love exists for Coach Amy, too! She is the crew’s biggest advocate and Liz goes as far to say that “she does magical work with our awesome crew. She is always so sweet and has a kind word for everyone.”

Coach Amy works alongside Coach Kiki, both working to help our crew have the best weekend possible. Kiki is hilarious and oh so productive, remaining calm no matter what problems come her way. Kiki can’t wait to be back in Seattle again after a few years and knows that both walkers and crew will have a “whole lot of smiles and hard-core belly laughs” to look forward to over the next few days. If you ever need a smile (or a sing along to your favorite Lizzo song!), Kiki is your gal!

Coach Aubrey will also bring plenty of smiles on event…and she’ll sing along with you to Lizzo, too! She’s a singer in her free time, and will even be performing at camp!

“Aubrey’s infectious enthusiasm for the Seattle 3-Day is contagious,” Coach Amy says with a smile. “Her passion for cultivating relationships in order to form partnerships and strengthen the 3-Day community inspires me daily. When you talk to Aubrey, you can’t help but smile.”

Last, but certainly not least, is our amazing Event Production Manager, Ann. Aubrey says she glues their group together, and “is super laid back and flexible. She’s always willing to hear suggestions from myself and the walkers!”

Ann has planned a beautiful route for all of you, and the coaches can’t wait for you to experience every step of this amazing weekend! Spots to keep an eye out for. Here are the coaches’ favorites…

  • Day One’s walk across the 520 Bridge and into Medina
  • Day One also has a scenic lunch stop at Bellevue Downtown Park
  • Day Two’s trek along the waterfront in Kirkland
  • Our new Honor Ceremony at camp on Saturday evening
  • Of course, Day Three’s stop in Gasworks Park and Lake Union Park
  • The Rose Garden is also a fan favorite
  • The new Finish Line Festival will also be tons of fun for spectators and participants alike

From our Opening Ceremony at the Space Needle, to the many nature trails and picturesque parks you’ll experience throughout the weekend, our Seattle coaches know it will be a weekend to remember!

Coach Amy summed that feeling up nicely.

“The Seattle 3-Day Crew community is truly a beautiful example of what happens when you allow love to rule over everything you do. On the 3-Day, you will experience something that defies explanation. You will be challenged, inspired, pushed harder and appreciated more than you ever have before. It is a magical thing and I wish I could bottle up this magic and sprinkle it all year long!”

We can’t wait to see that magic throughout Seattle this weekend ?

2019 Seattle 3-Day Route Preview

The weekend is almost here! Hot on the heels of an amazing New England 3-Day, we’re heading to the West Coast and taking our walk to Seattle! As we gear up for three days of family, fun and inspiration, we are excited to debut a few changes to the Seattle 3-Day this year while still hitting our favorite spots along the way. Event Production Manager Ann Love is giving us the details on everything we should look forward to.

Get excited because our Opening Ceremony will once again be at the Seattle Center at the Fountain Lawn. We will kick off our 60-mile journey in the shadow of the Space Needle, with some new additions to the Opening Ceremony to make this a truly special morning.

Ann is excited about being back at the Fountain Lawn for several reasons.

“It’s an iconic spot that is a great place to start our journey…plus we have access to indoor restrooms! Take advantage while you can!”

After we leave Seattle Center, we will be heading out on the picturesque route of Day One, which is similar – but shorter! – than last year. We will cross over the 520 Pedestrian Bridge, which is more picturesque than some of the bridge options we have used in the past.

From there, we will walk south through Medina, which is a very cute, quaint little town where some Seattle heavy hitters (Hi, Bill Gates!) have their homes. We’ll also be making our way through the Bellevue neighborhood for lunch at Downtown Park. Ann loves this spot, especially for the little waterfall that makes it extra relaxing. From lunch, we will exit through Bellevue and go into Redmond.

We have a new pit stop 4 to look forward to in the afternoon and Ann thinks walkers will be especially excited for that change! From there, we will return to our outdoor camp at Marymoor Park. We are back in the original campground spot this year, after making a move in 2018. Ann loves being back at our “home” at camp.

“This area will be a great spot to keep the whole camp experience close together and has more parking for Crew! There is also a big parking lot for hotel shuttles, and for Friends and Family Night, so there will be plenty of space and less extra walking. The outdoor camp really gives us our own special 3-Day space. We are our own community.”

Be sure to stick around camp for our new camp programs, including 3-Day BINGO on Friday night and a very special Honor Ceremony on Saturday.

“People really seem to like the changes in our evening camp programs,” Ann smiles. “There is lots of laughter on Friday night! And I’m excited to see them in an outdoor setting for the first time this year.”

After a nice rest, we will kick off Day Two by heading west out of Marymoor Park and onto the trails in downtown Redmond and then into Kirkland. Lunch on Day Two means our new Halfway Celebration so be sure to practice your dance! Ann wants to see a whole crowd doing their best moves during lunch ?

Walkers will cross Kirkland Corridor in the afternoon, and then our grab & go will be on the Google Campus like usual. From there, we’ll come back into Redmond and camp. You’ll even get a little time along the water in Kirkland, which is always a beautiful plus that makes Seattle extra special!

Day Three will be here before we know it, and Sunday will start with a short bus ride in the morning to the University of Washington, near the Husky sports complexes.

We will spend some more time on the trails on Day Three, hitting Woodland Park before skirting Woodland Park Zoo and the Woodland Rose Garden. We don’t actually go through the garden, but if you wanted to make a detour, there will be pretty photo opportunities!

Before lunch we will once again make a stop at Gaslight Park, and the Row for the Cure Festival will be there again this year. We are happy to share the space with them and get more pink festivities going!

Lunch will be at Lake Union Park before we head into town through the Amazon portion of the city. Walkers will go around Pike Place and walk near the waterfront from there. Ann loves that walkers get to spend some nice time along the waterfront and walk through the parks in that neighborhood.

You will hit pit stop 3 along the water, then come back into the city and spend the last 1-2 miles in the Queen Anne District before coming to our finish line.

We are once again ending back at the Seattle Center, but with one exciting change! We will be doing the Closing Ceremony right there on the Fountain Lawn, which means less walking and more great photos! It will really be a great experience and bring any spectators like your family and friends, to the Finish Line Festival, the celebration of the end of our walk.

Ann, our Seattle 3-Day coaches, and our entire 3-Day family, can’t wait to head west and get this amazing weekend started! We will see you all soon!

Meet Your New Seattle 3-Day Coach

Now coming to the stage, your new Seattle 3-Day Coach… Aubrey Zoli!

If you haven’t yet met our new Seattle 3-Day coach, we are honored to introduce you to Aubrey. She first worked for the 3-Day as a coach in Michigan all the way back in 2004, and we are so excited to have her back on our team!

As she currently makes Seattle her home, our West Coast 3-Dayers are going to be seeing a lot more of Aubrey as she ignites new passion, enthusiasm and maybe even some song into the Seattle walk this year. She still remembers experiencing Seattle’s Closing Ceremony in Memorial Stadium back in 2007 and can’t wait to see all of you salute the end of your 60-mile journey this year as well. She will be with you every step of the way.

But before you begin walking, let’s get to know Aubrey a little better…

What made you want to be so involved in the 3-Day?

I have always been passionate about working with non-profits and was excited at the chance to be a part of something that was so life changing. That first season, inspired by the hundreds of walkers I was personally supporting, I signed up to walk in San Diego. I trained and fundraised right alongside each of them. It was so hard! But I was so glad I was able to experience the event from that perspective. It gave me a greater level of understanding and appreciation for the participants and I felt I was able to better serve them as a coach. My own mother is a breast cancer survivor and it felt great to be able to do something to honor her. Fast forward 10 years and my aunt would also be diagnosed. I am now the daughter and niece of two incredible survivors, so I have a very personal connection to the cause.

How did you find your way to the job as a 3-Day coach this fall?

After taking several years away to focus on being a musician and exploring a job in early childhood education, a friend and long-time 3-Day participant told me that they were looking for a Seattle 3-Day coach. It was perfect timing as I had been looking to get back into the world of events but always had such high expectations of what I wanted. I was excited to come back and work for this event again and reconnect with the community. I love working for the 3-Day!

What are you most excited for this year?

I am looking forward to re-engaging our community and working hard to get the 3-Day out there to as many new people as possible. I know this event means so much to so many people and I’m excited to get out into the community and talk to more people about how incredible this the 3-Day is. I’m also happy to reconnect with some of the long-time participants I haven’t seen since I left back in 2010. So much has changed, but it so many ways, it feels like picking up right where I left off.

What are some of your top training tips?

Break in your shoes! Don’t get a new pair of shoes and wear them the first time on the event. Ouch! Also, bring an extra pair of shoes (broken in as well). If it rains or your feet swell, it’s good to have a second pair. I bought one set that were my regular size and a second pair that was a wide. On day two I couldn’t get my swollen feet into my regular shoes, so I was happy to have the second pair.

Don’t wear cotton! Invest in good socks. I love the double layer kind.

Body glide is your friend. Use it. Love it.

Most importantly, HAVE FUN! If you don’t walk every step of the 60 miles, it’s totally OK! I didn’t! I trained super hard and still my knee swelled up on the second day and I took a sweep van at mile 17 (it was a 22-mile day). I got to shower first, with no line, and cheer in the other walkers. There is no shame in the sweep!

What are some fundraising resources 3-Dayers have?

You have so many resources at your disposal! I have never, and I mean never, had a walker tell me they couldn’t reach their fundraising minimum when they tried. The ones who didn’t reach their minimum told me they didn’t do anything to fundraise. Money won’t magically appear in your account. You have to ask!

Your biggest resource is ME (Check me out on Facebook Live!) Use me! Ask questions. Also, use your team! Being a part of a team is a great way to brainstorm ideas. The fundraising section of the website has a slew of resources including “How to raise $2,300 in 1 Month,” “101 Fundraising Ideas” and “A Step by Step Check List.”

And now that you can set up a Facebook Fundraiser to raise money for the 3-Day, it’s made fundraising even easier. I recently had a walker reach her minimum in under a WEEK just using a Facebook Fundraiser.

In 2019, we are asking people to #COMMIT3DAYS …What does commitment mean to you?

Committing to something is to not give up – even when it’s difficult. When I commit to something, I do it fully. Sure, there may be bumps along the way, but continuing to reach that goal despite the complications is what makes the reward at the end so sweet.

What is something 3-Dayers might not know about you?

I’m in a band! I am a singer/songwriter and have been writing songs since I was 6 years old. For the past 8 years I have been a member of the soulful-American duo The Local Strangers. In 2019 we are releasing our third full length studio album and I can’t wait! Back in 2012 my band-mate and I had the privilege of coming to the 3-Day and we performed in camp. That was a fun way to blend my two worlds. ?