Almost 40

Last weekend was the 3-Day 60 Mile Breast Cancer Walk I have been training for and let me just say it ranks in one of the top ten events of my life. It was empowering, exhausting and downright fun. My friends Radha and Jay joined me as team rjr.

We talked and walk for 3 days. We talked about our kids, our past, our partners, our families and on and on. I can't remember the last time I had this kind of uninterrupted time with friends. It was wonderful.

Along the way I meet some terrific people.

Like the woman on day two I met on the bus back to pit stop 5 who wanted to walk back over the Golden Gate Bridge to camp with me. She was from Wisconsin and was here with 3 other friends walking. She was delightful and gave me some great advice about raising a daughter.

The woman I saw on day one who did a training walk with me in Concord a few weeks ago, I had the honor of cheering her into camp.

The woman who came out to cheer us on when we left the Cow Palace on day one. She was clearly in throws of chemo and holding her toddler son, while her husband stood by holding a sign saying "thank you for walking". I wanted to hug her and tell her I once knew how scared she is and to hang in there.

The woman who needed 2 walking sticks to help her make it through the day. She had a team of about 8 women walking with her. Everyday she made it to camp they would form a circle around her, drop and do push ups while cheering her accomplishment.

An then there was the crew.

The bicycle guy who road along side us to make sure we were safe and cheer us on. He seemed to appear at the most needed moments.

The woman who in the morning and afternoon helped us cross some really busy intersections and always had something really funny to say.

The guy who worked at the food tent and wore a hair net on his completely bald head and then went out and walked every mile with us everyday, one day actually wearing the hairnet while he walked.

I could go on and on and on.

The power of it all was palpable. I manage to walk almost 40 miles, way more than my goal. The last 6 miles with my feet taped by a wonderful chiropractor named Rachel.

Walking into holding on the final day was overwhelming. The path was lined with my fellow walkers some 2000 strong all yelling and cheering for me and my wonderful little team. There were a lot of high fives, pats on the back and tears.

The closing ceremonies held under foggy cold skies at Marina Green were emotional to say the least. We survivors were separated from the rest of the walkers and given pink 3-Day shirts. There were about 80 of us. We walked into a special circle in the center of all our fellow walkers who were on one knee saluting us with one of their shoes in the air. Quite a moving sight.

I couldn't have done it without my little family. Marnie and Lucy's Saturday visit was a shot in the arm and their support at closing ceremonies meant the world to me. And then there is all of you who donated so that I could walk. I made my goal and then some. My undying gratitude to all of you that I know and don't know. Your money will go to help create a world with out breast cancer. A world in which hopefully my daughter and others will never have to face what I faced two years ago.

P.S. The participants in the San Francisco 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk raised almost 5 million dollars.