If you’ve walked the Susan G. Komen San Diego 3-Day, you are probably familiar with the beloved Marla R., otherwise known as “Cookie Lady”. Since 2011, she has shown up to pit stop 4 on Day 2 of the Komen San Diego 3-Day with thousands of cookies as a pick-me-up for all the courageous walkers. A former walker and breast cancer survivor herself, Marla understands first-hand how important it is to have support along the way. After three years of missing the event due to COVID-19 and personal health concerns, the “Cookie Lady” made her triumphant return to the 3-Day® amid her own cancer treatment in 2023.
In early 2003, Marla started seeing commercials for the 3-Day and set out to walk in honor of her mom, a breast cancer survivor. While training and fundraising, Marla went for her first mammogram and was ultimately diagnosed with breast cancer. “My world turned upside down as I navigated the world of cancer and was still trying to get ready for the [3-Day]. I had a lumpectomy just three weeks before the walk, wrecking the end of my training schedule,” she shared. Despite the challenges she was facing, Marla completed 49 of the 60 miles at the 2003 3-Day, a grueling experience which she thought she would never partake in again.
However, after two months of breast cancer treatment and enduring recovery, she realized that as difficult as the 3-Day was, cancer treatment was far more difficult, so walking was the least she could do. From then on, Marla walked in the 3-Day annually, building a team along the way. Together, they walked in both San Diego and San Francisco before embarking on their final 60 miles in 2010. However, her team, including Dany G. and Karen C., decided that they still needed to be a part of the 3-Day, and what better way than taking on the role of Cookie Ladies. “That’s exactly what we’ve done. We have built up the Cookie Lady role to what it is now. We bring thousands of homemade cookies of all types, including gluten-free and vegan, along with several types of ice-cold milk.”
Due to COVID-19, Marla and her team took 2020 and 2021 off, with their eyes set on returning the following year in 2022. Unfortunately, in May of 2022 Marla was once again diagnosed with cancer, this time stage 4 colorectal cancer. Her treatment began in July and as the weeks passed, she realized that the chemotherapy was far too tough on her body to organize and bake for the 2022 3-Day. With that realization, she was beyond disappointed that she and the other Cookie Ladies would be missing once again.
“I continued my treatment and as 2023 summer approached, I found myself in a place in my treatment regimen that I thought I might be able to step back into the lead Cookie Lady role… I let [Coach] Staci know I was battling cancer and headed to major surgery with hopes I’d be cancer-free and ready to roll,” Marla opened up. “While my surgery was a success, it was a short-lived one. At my 8-week check-up on my liver there were now eight new tumors, and I was heading back to chemo every two weeks for the next three months.” Despite all of this, Marla was still committed to supporting the 2023 San Diego 3-Day, so out went the sign-ups in early October and the volunteer bakers rolled in. “At least I could bake less than my usual 100 dozen cookies,” she joked.
As the date drew closer, she spoke to her oncologist about the option for extra fluids following the chemo that would end the day before Day 2, when they typically set up their table. Her doctor was intrigued and felt how important it was for Marla to attend, so he moved her chemo from before the 3-Day to the following Monday. Marla described this as a blessing, giving her a bit more strength to get through Friday for preparation and Saturday when they provide cookies to walkers. This year Marla reflected on how she spent more time out front talking with walkers than behind the table. “My heart was filled with happiness and joy for two reasons; the joy of the walkers being thrilled with our return and [the fact that] I was there despite my own cancer battle.”
The unstoppable Cookie Ladies showed up this year with over 3,500 homemade cookies, baked by themselves and volunteers. To gather these tasty treats, they put out a message on Facebook with a simple sign-up form and a little story of the 3-Day and asked around at work if anyone would like to participate. This year, they had 45 bakers donate homemade cookies which they gathered throughout the week leading up to the event. Each volunteer donated 3–4 dozen cookies either from scratch or premade dough. The only rule was that they must be baked with love at home. They provided all sorts of sweets including gluten free, vegan and nut free options accompanied by various milks such as dairy, almond, and oat.
Ultimately, their mission is to provide a pick-me-up for every walker to help get them through Day 2, a notoriously difficult stretch of the 3-Day. Over the years, they’ve been accompanied by Dany’s daughter Isabella R. and “Cookie Dude” Alan S. This year, Marla’s friend Laurie A. joined to experience the Pink Bubble for the first time and to ensure that Marla could physically manage the day amid her treatment.
For years, she’s described the Pink Bubble as “filled with love, hope, tears of joy and tears of sadness but it surrounds you with love. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll have an experience you never imagined having. You will meet new friends and grow closer to those you already know.” As a breast cancer survivor currently fighting colorectal cancer, she is passionate about raising money to fund research to get us closer to the cures.
For those interested in participating in the 3-Day, she says that the event is life-changing and that there are resources to help you with training and fundraising. The best fundraising advice she’s ever received is if you don’t ask, then the answer is always no, but if you do ask, the answer might be yes. This mindset has translated to countless aspects of her life and is just another way that the 3-Day has impacted her. Marla and the rest of the Cookie Ladies are set to return to the San Diego 3-Day in 2024, stating “it’s part of us and we realized just how much we missed it after our short absence… I plan to return as long as there is a 3-Day. It is a part of my heart and soul.”
Have you met Marla and the rest of the Cookie Ladies?
