Day 3- Final Thoughts

I cannot sing praises to the volunteers enough. They dedicated their whole weekend to helping us get through the walk, and I am so grateful for the energy, enthusiasm and charity they displayed throughout the 60 miles. The cheers and high-fives we gave them at the Closing Ceremony seemed like an insignificant thank you compared to the spirit they provided us. Everyone- from the EMS guys riding bikes with pink bunny ears and pink bras on to the crossing guards dressed in kilts, angel wings, and pink wigs to the police officers patiently holding traffic so 2000 walkers could cross a 4 lane road- contributed just as much to the walk as we did. It is not possible to hold the walk without them!
The extremely large crowds lining the roads also played a huge role in the success of the 3Day. It was astounding to see that many people take the time to come out and cheer us on, even along the empty back roads. They didn't come empty-handed, too. People bought and handed out tons of things to us without reservation. Over the three days, here are some of the things given to us by complete strangers: lots and lots of candy, tissues, starbucks, bloody mary(s), dunkin’ donuts, fruit from the Whole Foods staff, gatorade, water, diet coke, swedish fish, sour patch kids, Wrigley gum, stickers, Girl Scout Cookies, and beads. I doubt that more than half of them knew someone in the 3Day, which made it even more impressive. These people were so touched by cancer, and so grateful that we would take a stand, that they came out on their own initiative to thank us and tell us to keep fighting for them. The 3Day emphasizes the idea of stories as playing critical roles in the 3Day experience. I knew each walker was bringing and writing our his/her own story, but it wasn’t until I encountered hundreds of supporters along the route that I realized we were re-writing so many other people’s stories.