At 81, Burt L. has walked the Susan G. Komen 3-Day® 35 times. A longtime training walk leader from New York, he’s spent years helping others prepare for their 60-mile journey. But a few years ago, Burt’s training group found themselves looking out for him.
“The last couple of years, I’d get an uncomfortable feeling in my chest when we started to walk,” Burt explained. “It would go away, and I felt fine.”
As the training walks continued around New York, the chest pains kept coming.
“At that point they told me they would not walk with me again unless I go see a doctor,” he said. “And by God, I needed it. They were right. They saved my life.”
Burt soon learned he needed a heart valve replacement and later, a pacemaker. These two procedures have allowed him to continue doing what he loves—walking in support of the 3-Day.
“If it hadn’t been for them yelling at me to go see a doctor, who knows where I would be today,” Burt said.
Today Burt is feeling good and plans to keep walking the 3-Day for as long as he can. He began walking 22 years ago in honor of his cousin, Judy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999. When her cancer metastasized (spread), she faced it with courage until her death in 2004.
“I need to do all I can to make sure Judy did not die in vain,” Burt said. “I need to do all I can to help bring about the day when no other man or woman, no other family, loses a person they love to breast cancer.”
In the early years, he walked with Judy’s daughters. And this year, in what he calls “a delicious demonstration of the circle of life,” Burt will walk his 36th 3-Day alongside Judy’s grandson.
“We are JuJu’s Boys,” he said. “On his first 3-Day and my 36th, we will continue the fight against breast cancer together.”
Over the last two decades in the Pink Bubble, Burt has raised more than $300,000 for the 3-Day. Each month, Burt and his training groups strive to meet and walk 10 to 20 miles in preparation for the 3-Day. While many of them participate in different 3-Day cities, they take care and motivate each other through every step of training.
To learn more about the 3-Day visit the3day.org.
