Take a Walk in the Park, 3-Day Style

Now that spring is here, everyone is itching to get outside and into the sun. And this weekend is the perfect motivation to get you moving! Get out and get your steps in, but instead of walking on a track or at the gym, we want to see you all heading to the park to walk in the sun. Here are some fun ways to get your steps in…

Explore a new park

This is an easy one! Training can become monotonous if you’re always walking in the same park or area, so pick someplace new this weekend! Do some searching, and even take a bit of a drive if you need to, to find a picturesque and unique place to get moving. Websites like AllTrails.com, TrailLink.com and MapMyWalk.com can help you find a new park or trail in your area.

Do a lightning round

If you live in an area with lots of parks or hiking trails, hit as many as you can in one day! Walk 1-2 miles (or even less if you like) in each location, and then move on to the next fun spot. This is a great way to get in a lot of miles with nice built-in breaks. For first-time walkers or those who haven’t done a ton of training yet, kick your spring walks off with this idea!

Go for a hike

This is not the same thing as a walk! Find an area with more of an incline, be it a national park or a mountain (depending on where you live) and lace up those hiking boots. This will be a different type of training, and indeed a different type of park experience. That will help add some variety to your training schedule and prepare you for any hills you might hit on the 3-Day course!

Make it a nature walk

Collect cool flowers, leaves and other elements of nature as you walk. Make sure this is allowed by the park first, as some places do not allow you to remove the nature. However, if it is permitted, it’s a great activity to have on your mind as you walk and will really make you appreciate your natural surroundings. Then, use those petals and leaves for a later team building event and make fun art or pressed flowers that will always remind you of your 3-Day team. ?

Plan a picnic at the end

This will take some coordination but work with your family or friends to have someone meet you at the end of your 3-Day training walk with a picnic reward! Have as many pink items (think strawberries, pink lemonade, cookies and more!) as you can in the picnic and celebrate a walk well stepped.

If you need some more inspiration for your weekend walks, here are some other blog posts to check out:

Are you going on a training walk this weekend? Tell us how you’re getting outside this spring!

 

For tips about healthy living, click here for advice and support to keep you on track for the 3-Day and beyond. http://the3day.co/amgen2019. Thanks to the support of Amgen and in partnership with American Bone Health, the Healthy Living series was designed to prepare your mind, body and bones for the 3-Day.

What to Love About 3-Day Hotel Camp with Coach Tisho

Alert: We are less than five months away from our first 3-Day of 2019!

There is so much to be excited for this year, not the least of which is the fact that four of our 3-Days will have hotel camps in 2019! After getting such great feedback from our hotel camp in Philadelphia last year, we are expanding it for the upcoming 3-Day walks in Michigan, Twin Cities, New England and Philadelphia.

If you haven’t spent a 3-Day in one of our hotel camps yet, get excited! There is a lot to look forward to. ? In order to get you pumped, Coach Tisho is giving us her Top 10 Favorite Things to Love About 3-Day Hotel Camp…

  1. Beds! Actual beds with fluffy pillows and soft sheets. A full night of restful ZZZ’s for all our 3-Dayers.
  2. Climate control! No chilly nights or sweaty nights or rainy nights. Just comfy nights! This will be especially important for our events happening later in the year when Mother Nature might be more unpredictable.
  3. Dry feet! No unzipping the the front “door” to find wet, dewy grass in the morning.
  4. Quiet! No slamming port-a-potty doors in the middle of the night.
  5. Hotel showers! Bring some of your favorite shampoo and scented body wash to soak your muscles in a nice long shower at night.
  6. So many spaces! Ballroom space, lobby space, lounge space, restaurant space – tons of places to sit and relax and chat with your fellow participants.
  7. Power outlets! No more waiting at the charging station before you can go to bed. It’s the little things that make the most difference.
  8. More privacy! As much as it can be fun to yell to people in the next tent, hotel rooms make for more privacy and quiet when you need it.
  9. Storage! If you’re one of our amazing 3-Dayers who loves to rock fun outfits on event, you’ll have lots more space in closets and dressers for all your 3-Day necessities.
  10. All the fun! There are all these pro’s…plus you won’t lose any of the camp fun and festivity! It will be a new, but no less amazing, 3-Day home to arrive to after a long day fighting breast cancer. We can’t wait to welcome you home. ?

If hotel camps aren’t your style, or you love the great outdoors, we also have 3 outdoor camps this year in Seattle, Dallas/Fort Worth and San Diego! We’ll be doing another post in the future that details all the amazing experiences you can have at our outdoor camps, so stay tuned. Indoors or outdoors, 3-Day camp is a fun place to be ?

What are you looking forward to most about camping on the 3-Day this year? Philadelphia 3-Dayers, do you have any favorite hotel memories from last year? Share them in the comments!

Two Walkers, One 3-Day Love with Dylan and Karla from the San Diego 3-Day

It only took 3 days and 60 miles for Dylan and Karla to feel the spark. 365 days later, they took that journey again, this time as husband and wife. Though they had both been involved for the 3-Day in years past, Dylan and Karla didn’t officially meet until friends introduced them on the 2017 San Diego 3-Day. Dylan started walking for his ex-wife’s good friend in 2002 and has now participated in 13 events. 2016 was Karla’s first year walking. But 2017 was the one that counted, because that’s when they met each other. That’s where their story began…

How did you then meet each other?

Dylan had walked in the Philly event in 2016 and again in 2017 along with other good 3-Day friends. When the 2017 San Diego 3-Day came around we were introduced by common friends at the Red Marlin Day 0 party. Our friends had no idea what would happen in the days to come.

What was your first walk like together?

That depends who you ask. ? Dylan would say the first day wasn’t like any other walk. Karla might say she had her eye on Dylan, but the first day was fairly normal. The second day we walked together more, talked more and started to realize there was a spark. By Day 3, it was pretty clear we had a strong connection. Plans were altered and the Monday following the 3-Day we spent all day wandering around San Diego. For the sake of brevity, many details are being left out, but it goes without saying (now) that we couldn’t deny the connection.

And how has your 3-Day experience changed over time?

We continue to meet amazing people who have become dear to our hearts and unfortunately a few of these dear friends have lost their lives, which gives us more reason to continue this effort. Together we are more determined to raise money and participate. As far as the actual walk goes, it’s changed considerably given we basically walk all 60 miles holding hands.

This year was your first walk as a married couple!

Dylan proposed to Karla a month after the 2017 3-Day (right before Christmas). She moved to Raleigh from Atlanta two months after that. We both decided pretty quickly we wanted to get married in San Diego right before the 2018 3-Day but the details kind of fell into place over the next few months. On a drive from Orange County to San Diego in January 2018 we passed Oceanside, the city Dylan’s dad grew up in. We visited the house his dad grew up in and, subsequently, drove a few miles south to Carlsbad where Dylan’s grandfather had established a church in the early ‘60s after retiring from the Navy as a Chaplain. The visit wasn’t intended for scoping out a wedding venue, but we both decided after walking the church campus that there was no better place to profess our love for each other and to bring both families together. As more plans came together, we decided the Red Marlin (where we had originally met) was an obvious location for the reception and of course that meant our guests would be staying at the Hyatt Mission Bay. It was not only our wedding host hotel, but also the 3-Day host hotel! It was pretty cool seeing our wedding family transition to our 3-Day family.

And what was it like walking only a few days later?

It made for a LONG week. We got to San Diego the Sunday before the 3-Day and didn’t get back home to Raleigh until the day after Thanksgiving. We both had a blast walking in the 3-Day for our honeymoon. ? We also spent a couple of days at the Hotel Del Coronado following the Closing Ceremony.

You were also featured in the camp show this year for the Newlywed Game!

It went by so fast we barely remember! Dylan does remember being right on more of the questions than Karla. LOL

What are some lessons you’ve learned on the 3-Day that also apply to your relationship?

Sometimes in the real world it’s good to have the 3-Day family as an example of giving and philanthropy to look back on for reference. We both have lifelong friends we’ve met at the 3-Day and get to see throughout the year.

What makes a great 3-Day walking partner?

One who will hold your hand and listen to your rambling.

And partner in life?

Not much different! We are each other’s priority and nothing else is more important. It helps that we basically think the same way.

What are your Valentine’s Day plans?

Well, Karla’s birthday is 2 days after Valentine’s Day so it’s kind of a combined thing. We honestly don’t put much emphasis on Valentine’s Day. We don’t need a holiday to remind us to love each other. That said, for Karla’s birthday she wanted to go to the Daytona 500 so we’re going to Florida that weekend and watching fast cars turn left for a few hours. I’m sure we’ll be holding hands the entire time ?