All the letters writing, fundraising, and hounding folks over the last several months finally came together with the Avon Walk this past weekend. Saturday we walked a marathon, 26.2 miles, and Sunday we walked a half-marathon, 13.1 miles, on routes that took us all over Devner. We saw some very nice neighborhoods, busy streets and quiet bike paths, a great river walk, and even a fantastic garbage dump. All in all it was a truly incredible experience, and a very well run event.
I walked alongside over 800 other walkers who were each required to raise at least $1800 in order to participate. Of these walkers, I was one of 41 men to walk in the event (of which I only came in contact with about 8 along the course).
My fundraising went far better than I could have hoped. All told, I helped raise $2280 for the Avon fund. Their press release details how the funds were divided up. Raising the money has been a pretty incredible journey for me as well. I was astounded each day when I came to find another donation had come in. Old friends I hadn't talked to in years were writing checks no questions asked, and people were sending in money without a second thought. The amount of support I received was just incredible. I soon came to realize how many people's lives are impacted by breast cancer, and how many people are willing to step up and do something about it. You may feel like you only put in a small amount in the grand scheme of things, but together you helped me raise $2280, and, as a part of the Denver Avon Walk, I helped to raise $2.3 million, and together all the walks across the country are on pace to break last year's sum of 42.6 million dollars. That's no small amount.
The walk itself was incredibly demanding, much moreso than I had expected. I have ran a marathon and that wasn't easy, but walking it was much harder. To put it in perspective, in running marathon I take about 33000 steps and 4 hours. Walking it on Saturday took about 60000 steps and 9.5 hours. Aside from the physical demands though, the journey was quite incredible. There was so much support for the walkers. Aid stations were present every couple of miles with tireless volunteers and Avon walk crew members were present at nearly every intersection to help with traffic. The fans along the route became so important to the walkers. There were people sitting on their porch giving support all day long, there were stands people set up in their front yard with cold drinks or snack mix or candy or chilled grapes (I love that lady), and so many cars passing by honking their horns in support. And there were the friends and family of other walkers that we saw over and over along the route as their cheered their walker and moved further down the route to cheer them again and again. I can't say how much that helped; when you're sweating rivers and your feet are screaming with every footfall, to look up and see a friendly face delivering a sincere and heartfelt "Thank you for what you are doing."
I heard so many interesting stories and met so many interesting people along the walk. I can't say how many times I heard the call from behind, "Are you walking alone? We'll join you!" There was such a great sense of community, a sense that we're all in this together. I met the 6 princesses in pink crowns from Chicago who were walking for friends with breast cancer, I was made an honorary member of team Boobin' On who were walking for one of their grandmothers that was taken by breast cancer, I met a mother and daughter that were walking for their mother/grandmother, and an adventure athlete walking for her roommate. Everyone had a story and a reason for walking, and they were all more than happy to share them as the miles passed by.
After the first day and the 26.2 miles, we ended up in a park where volunteers had set up camp for all of us. They made us dinner, hauled our gear, set up our tents, and provided shower trailers. On top of that, there were massage tents, yoga tents, and a well-staffed medical tent. They closed off the evening with a bonfire.
One thing that no one seemed to share were complaints. I consider myself a pretty fit guy, but I came close to letting a few grumbles fall out. There were women walking who were easily twice maybe three times my age, and some twice my size (well maybe) that were all walking the same route I was. I saw so many mangled, blistered, chaffed feet at aid stations that were attended to as best they could and then stuffed back into shoes to finish the route. If you want to see something inspiring, if you want to get a hint of what true strength is, stop by the medical tent at the end of one of these walks. There were women hooked to IV's, white as a sheet, women with skin rubbed raw, and all manner of destroyed feet who's images are still giving me nightmares. They did it all without a word of complaint. And the crazy part is the vast majority of them suited up and stepped out on the pavement again on Sunday. I think there was this general consensus along the walk of "My feet may hurt but I still have my health." "I'm getting scorched by the sun, but someone is counting on me." "This may be tough, painful, long, and arduous, but at least its not chemo. If those women can do it, I can make at least one more mile for them..."
So what did we accomplish this weekend? Yes, there is the money that was raised, and that's no small feat. But I'd like to think we did more. Maybe we got people talking. Maybe someone seeing the droves of pink-clad walkers descend upon the city finally came to appreciate the huge impact that breast cancer is having on our society and was motivated to action. Maybe a young woman saw all the support and was convinced of the importance of regular exams. Maybe we gave some hope to a breast cancer survivor that her children and grandchildren won't have to go through what she did. Just maybe... Even if all I get is a "maybe" it was worth getting up off the couch for this weekend.
I would like to thank everyone that made this weekend possible. First and foremost, my Mother, my Aunt, and my Grandmother for being the inspiration for me to start this walk in the first place. Thanks to all the donors who gave me the financial backing to get me in. Thanks to all the volunteers and crew members that kept up safe, kept us healthy, got things set up, and cheered us on. Thanks to my friend, Tamara, and her mom, Beverly, who came out to help and ended up shuttling me around town after the first day to compensate for my lack of planning. Thanks to every fan who came out to cheer, who honked in support, who gave us snacks, who passed on a smile, or who just came out to watch. We couldn't have done this without all of you. Thank you.
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Be inspired!
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." -Albert Einstein
"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart." -Confucius
"Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief." -Swedish proverb
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
"God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try." -Mother Teresa
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