The Michigan 3-Day Success

A successful Michigan 3-Day celebrates at the Closing Ceremony at Ford Motor Corporate Headquarters

A successful Michigan 3-Day crowd of walkers celebrates with Dr. Sheri at the Closing Ceremony at Ford Motor Corporate Headquarters

Some of the highlights of the Susan G. Komen Michigan 3-Day must include great weather, exciting community support and a great group of veteran and first-time walkers. The weather wasn’t too bad, either, with sunny skies and temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s during the day. The Opening Ceremony was a combination of some excellent Zumba, a beautiful sunrise behind Dr. Sheri’s welcome, and a wonderful group of flag bearers and breast cancer survivors.

No one can deny the strong community support for the cause. Private cheering stations dotted the route each day, with a special welcome in the town of Plymouth on Saturday. Not only is the square packed with people cheering on the walkers, but the community continues to dye the town fountain a very appropriate color of pink! From firefighters on Saturday to hundreds of local cheerleading squads on Sunday, the community came out with their full support of the fight to end breast cancer.

Michigan 3-Day friends stop in the shade of Pit Stop 2 on Sunday morning

The Milestone Award was given to Barry Blauer at the Camp Show on Friday evening. Barry continues to be a driving force in the campaign to end breast cancer and has shown it with a commitment of over ten years and individual fundraising efforts that top $141,000! We can’t thank Barry enough for his commitment to the 3-Day family and for his large part in helping Komen fund its mission to end breast cancer.

Barry Blauer receives the Milestone Award at the 2013 Michigan 3-Day

As a photographer and writer along with the 3-Day® this year, I was once again moved by the sheer number of extraordinary stories among the participants from personal tragedy-turned-miracle to those who had just lost a mother to cancer. Each person had a profoundly touching story. A boyfriend pushed a participant 60 miles, after she had obtained her funding, but then tragically had broken her foot, which was in a cast. Without the need for notoriety, he silently moved over the course as attention was often diverted to his girlfriend’s cast. I noticed him stand silently beside, attentive but clearly not interested in the limelight. I saw them multiple times each day, with his limp worsening slowly in one knee. He wore sunglasses and a hat. He rarely spoke. I still do not know his name.

Somehow I felt he was the story of every walker who might never be “known” or tell their story to a large audience. Perhaps I didn’t ask his name because I wanted him to remain the universal walker, one who endured all without recognition. I think that’s who he is.

As the Closing Ceremony commenced, the participants gave tribute to breast cancer survivors without the need for a cue. On one knee and with a shoe held high, the Survivors’ Circle gathered in the middle of the Ceremony and later raised the flag, symbolizing the commitment to find a cure for breast cancer. What an event and what a success. Those who raised money including both the walkers and the crew of the 2013 Michigan 3-Day gathered a staggering $2.6 million. Thank you to all those who made this event in Michigan another wonderful success! See you next year!

MORE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE 2013 MICHIGAN 3-DAY

Out of a Wheelchair, Onto the 3-Day

Dr. Sheri awaits TJ as she marches to the Michigan 3-Day flagpole on Day 2, after being told many years ago that she would never walk again

Most individuals (even well-trained athletes) have a difficult time on the Susan G. Komen 3-Day^® if they have not trained by walking. Walking 60 miles over three days seems to bring out aches and pains that 3-Day^® participants never knew existed. For TJ, walking had not been an option for five and a half years! Eight years ago, her health deteriorated rapidly, leaving her in a wheelchair and having doctors tell her that she would likely never walk again.

Last night, she walked unaided into camp.

That was after walking twenty miles yesterday, without help, and that was after twenty miles on Friday. It’s safe to say that TJ refused to believe anyone else, and in 2011, she completed the Michigan 3-Day in a wheelchair. “Even people close to me were saying, ‘You don’t have to do this!'” TJ explained last night. “I had to do it. In 2012, I did the whole Michigan 3-Day with a walker.” Thanksgiving 2012 was the first day that she managed an entire day without a walker. Her next goal? The 2013 Michigan 3-Day with no help.

TJ raises the flag “We Will Never Give Up” as the Michigan 3-Day walkers and crew cheer

TJ has had three generations before her endure breast cancer, and the Michigan 3-Day has been a source of trial and strength where she combines her desire to help others through breast cancer research and awareness and her own challenges to walk again.

Amid the sea of clapping participants and tears, TJ hoisted the flag, “We Will Never Give Up,” accepted a standing ovation at dinner, and took her place among all those who have conquered. With confidence, she states, “All battles can be won.”

TJ rests at Pit 2 on the 2013 Michigan 3-Day

A Cure is Worth a Thousand Miles

On Saturday, Day 2 of the 2013 Susan G. Komen Michigan 3-Day, Matthew Pickus will cross his 1000th mile in an effort to find a cure for breast cancer. Most veterans of the Komen 3-Day have heard of Matthew as the founder of the 60-Mile Men, a dedicated group of men who have raised a serious amount of money from their notorious calendars. They are also fierce participants as crew members and volunteers forming a strong core for the fight to end breast cancer. I asked Matthew to provide his perspective on a few points of the 3-Day, on the day he crosses the 1000th mile in his personal journey.A thousand miles is a long way, does anything strike you about the journey as a whole? Realizations?

Matthew on Day 1 of the 2013 Michigan 3-Day, displaying the infamous 60-Mile Men calendar and his “Mr. January” page

“It’s been an incredible journey. I have stories that will make one laugh or cry from every event I have been to. Every event, there are two or three people that will stay with me the rest of my life. The people I have met and shared the journey with are incredible. The 90-year old walker that completes all 60 miles like it was nothing; the walkers that battle blisters and heat and fatigue for miles at a time; the 35-year survivor that tells her story for the first time ever; every participant has a story and I’ve been honored to hear quite a few. (And for better or worse, I am sure that there are walkers from around the country that can include me in their 3-Day stories!) I don’t walk the event as quickly as possible; just the opposite. It’s the people in the middle and back of the pack that I enjoy spending time with, just strolling the event, doing what I can to help others and enjoying the journey. Sometimes just walking next to someone and listening to their stories it all they need to continue their journey. Conversation and laughter and even tears make the miles pass easier.”

What does the 3-Day® offer you and the community you’ve met along the way? (Besides you offering so much to other people?)

“The ‘bubble’ that is a 3-Day is very much how I wish the rest of the year would be, and how I try to live the rest of the year. Everyone is looking out for everyone else and sharing stories and laughing and even being open and vulnerable with each other. It is a magical time. If there is one take away–the 3-Day is the epitome of “it is the journey, not the destination.” Don’t rush it. Enjoy the time and even the hardships. Look around, meet people and talk and share and laugh and cry. The destination will be there when you get there.”

Hands together for Matthew today as he heads into camp for his dedication and extraordinary efforts in finding a cure for breast cancer!