Meet Your 2018 Atlanta 3-Day Coaches

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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.

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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!”

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.

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.”

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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

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.”

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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.”

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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 Jaden C., Incredible Kid and Incredible 3-Dayer

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Happy Incredible Kid Day! We have plenty of Incredible Kids as a part of our 3-Day family, so this day is always a fun and exciting one to recognize the future of our pink family. They are the next generation of walkers, crew members, supporters and more. Every kid who joins this journey is making a difference towards reaching Komen’s Bold Goal.

One amazing (or incredible!) example of that is Jaden C. from the Atlanta 3-Day. He started off as a walker stalker, then Youth Corps member, and is now walking the full 60 miles alongside his “Nana” Gwen this year. This journey, she says, is all part of a promise that Jaden made to her years ago.

“I am overcome with pride to see Jaden’s continued commitment and dedication to the fight to end breast cancer! I could not have imagined he would ever be walking the 3-Day. He kept the promise he made as a new Youth Corps member years ago, which was to walk the 60 mile 3-Day as soon as he was old enough!”

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Nana was also the catalyst in Jaden’s joining the Youth Corps in his younger years. She encouraged him to apply, and he says he was “lucky” to be accepted. Since then, he has made friends and new family on the 3-Day.

Jaden says, “My Youth Corps involvement was an amazing experience over the past several years. I have met so many friends that I now consider family. We stay in touch and have formed a bond that can never be broken. Participation in the Youth Corps has changed my perspectives about commitment, dedication, determination and leadership in many areas of my life.

It’s personal and means so much to me in ways that many people wouldn’t understand. My Youth Corps friends promised we would someday all walk together as a team. I’ve wanted to walk for years and to finally be so close to doing so means the world to me. I can’t wait!”

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He is only months away from walking his first 60-mile 3-Day, and Jaden has already begun training and preparing. This spring, he will use his Track and Field practices to help sneak in extra training and has no doubt he will meet, or even exceed, his fundraising goals. He is motivated to keep his promise to his Nana, and all the walkers he has supported in years past.

“The camaraderie of people, the environment, the overall family affair aspect of the 3-Day, the celebration throughout Atlanta, and keeping my promise…That’s all what I’m most looking forward to.”

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Jaden truly is More Than Pink.

But, when we asked him who is More Than Pink in his own life, Jaden’s answer was easy. It all came back to his Nana.

“My grandmother (my Nana) is more than pink! She works hard for our family on a constant basis regardless of how she may feel. She’s battled through breast cancer before and, years prior to her diagnosis, lost her sister (who she watched battle this disease on more than one occasion), and she has had to adjust to a “new normal.” She encourages other survivors who now come to her with concerns and questions about her experience.

She has continued to walk and support the 3-Day for years. Nana and I walked together as 20-milers last year as the VA DUO! It was a privilege and pleasure to team up with her to walk in my aunt Debbie’s memory and in my Nana’s honor as a survivor. We crossed the finish line as a family along with Pink Angel Divas!

I will be her legs and strength this year! The journey is not over!”

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Gwen echoes his excitement, love and support.

“I am so proud of this young man who has fought to overcome so many obstacles in life. I believe his determination and outlook can be attributed, in part, to the experiences and lessons learned as part of the 3-Day family!

We (his family) are all so proud of him for embarking on this incredible journey for such a worthy cause because for us, IT’S PERSONAL!”

We are honored to be a part of your journey, Jaden and Gwen. We can’t wait to see you take on those incredible 60 miles in October in Atlanta.