The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer
New York 2003

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The New York Walk is the third Avon walk I've done. In 2001, I walked from Kenosha to Chicago in 3 days. In 2002, my mom Paula and I were on the Crew for the same Chicago walk. This year, I walked for 2 days in New York with my friend Sue. My mom, my sister Karen and my brother-in-law Kyle were on the Crew. I have been involved in the Avon walks because it is something tangible that I can do to fight breast cancer - a disease that has touched many people close to me. This website tells the story of our New York weekend, which I dedicate to Mom and Auntie Merle - two of the strongest women I know!

I trained for the walk all summer, starting in May. My walking partner Maria and I walked every Monday night and on the weekends. It was fun to have a training partner! Maria and I flew to New York on Friday, September 19th, where we met up with Sue. We were quite worried about Hurricane Isabel, but thankfully she passed through New York before we arrived. Our weather on the weekend was gorgeous! Friday afternoon, we met Mom, Karen and Kyle at Registration. They were on the Route Cleanup Crew, aka Trash Crew.

Registering on Friday

Friday night we stayed at the Sheraton Hotel in Midtown. We woke up at 3:30am Saturday morning so that we'd have enough time to get ready and pack up to meet the shuttles downstairs at 4:30. Unfortunately, the shuttles never made it, so about 500 Walkers and Crew had to take cabs to the South Street Seaport for Opening Ceremonies. Our cab driver was positively amazed that we'd flown in from Chicago to walk 39 miles!

Walking partners

At the South Street Seaport, we ate breakfast and found our Trash Crew friends.

Trash Crew Lead Karen

At Opening Ceremonies, there were two huge, lighted columns which had been signed by the participants of each of the walks. It was very moving to read some of the signatures and see the words of all the people fighting for the same cause. I am so thankful that my dedication is to Survivors, but I know that I am very lucky, for the words "In Memory of" appeared too many times.

Signing the memory column

Opening Ceremonies were held on the side of the South Street Seaport, with an awesome view of the river and the Brooklyn Bridge. While waiting for the Ceremony to start, we met Melanie and Karen. They were each walking alone, so we all joined up - we liked Melanie's big hat, because it made her very easy to spot in the crowd!

Ceremony friends

We started walking around 7:30am - 4 hours after we left the hotel! Already we felt tired from standing around and waiting, but the adrenaline from starting soon kicked in. At the beginning, the Windy City Walkers passed out pink M&Ms, which were a big hit! It was fun to be the out-of-towners. Early on, we passed Ground Zero, which was very moving. It's such a big empty space, and I was aware of the missing Towers all weekend.

Ground Zero

We continued walking up the west side of Manhattan along the Hudson River. We saw all sorts of dogs and people out and about, and many cheered us on (people too!) The Walkers ranged from young to old, were both women and men, and many wore various pink accessories, including pink hair, pink deely-bobbers, pink boas and pink shoelaces. We drank plenty of water and Gatorade, used the Porta Johns frequently, and ate lots of fun snacks. Rubbing our feet at each stop soon became essential as they got more and more tired and sore.

Ahhh......

At mile 10 we stopped for lunch in a small park with a nice view of the George Washington Bridge. Lunch was a tasty meal of a chicken wrap, chips, fruit and cookies, accompanied by the ubiquitous Gatorade. It was so nice to sit for a while with our shoes off and stretch out. We couldn't dally too long though, because we still had 16 miles to go!

Lunch

Looking over the Hudson river and GW bridge

After lunch we continued north along the Hudson river. We crossed the Henry Hudson bridge into the Bronx - which we thought was Brooklyn, for a while. After passing a sign for Yonkers, we asked a woman who was gardening where we were. She responded Riverdale, and when we asked "where's that?" she gave us an odd look and said "the Bronx." When we explained that we were from Chicago, she smiled and then asked what we were doing. As we explained about the walk, she became very interested, and said that she was going to do it next year! After Riverdale, we headed back south, crossing the Broadway Bridge back into Manhattan.

It's Yonkers!

This part of the walk got a little hard, because there were a ton of hills, which were really hard because we trained in Chicago, which is flat! Also, we were in a hurry because we were running out of time, and the neighborhoods we were walking through didn't seem like the best place to be walking. Plus, our feet and calves were REALLY sore at this point! But we kept walking, through Inwood, Washington Heights and Harlem, looking for the next orange arrow that marked our path. Some people cheered, most people just looked at us - we did make an odd sight, with our whistles and stickers and fanny packs! Unfortunately, we got swept at the second to last rest stop, because we ran out of time and the route was closing. We were 3 miles short - but we feel that we walked the full distance because of all the hills! We were pretty bummed that we couldn't finish the route, but sitting on the bus DID feel pretty good. The bus dropped us off near Randalls Island, in the East River, where we camped for the night. We had to walk about half a mile over the footbridge to the island, on sore, stiff legs and feet. Sue and I were the very last walkers to make it to camp, and were greeted by Mom! It was awesome to see her waiting for us!

Finally in camp

We got a yummy dinner, then took the best shower EVER. Then we crashed in our little blue tent, tucked nicely under the Triborough Bridge. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep very well - the Triborough bridge was quite noisy!

The main reason I walk

We overslept, thanks to the phone being on Chicago time and therefore an hour earlier - but we had plenty of time in the morning to meet Mom, Karen and Kyle for a yummy breakfast of oatmeal, ham, fruit, and juice. Then we started - 13 miles left!

Breakfast on Sunday

Since we got into camp so late on Saturday night, we had to take camp pictures the next morning. Camp, called the Wellness Village, is like a little town - it has showers, a dining tent, a yoga/health tent, a medical tent and a little store. And of course, 1300 little blue tents!

our little blue tent

me and the triborough bridge

Best shower ever

Stopped in here every 2 miles

On Sunday, we walked along the upper east side of Manhattan, along the park where many people were out with their Sunday coffee and papers. Again, there were dogs everywhere of all types. We walked along First Avenue past the Chrystler building, the United Nations, and past other well known buildings. We walked through Chinatown, where we happened to be following the 3 ladies with pink hair. We got many strange looks, but watching people's reaction was fun.

The Chrysler Building

Lunch was at the 8-mile mark, in Brooklyn just across the Manhattan bridge, at Empire Fulton Ferry State park. Crossing the Manhattan bridge was very cool, since we could see the Statue of Liberty and the southern skyline. And everywhere we looked we saw Walkers! And we ran into Karen and Melanie again, who we hadn't seen since Opening Ceremonies.

Lunch Sunday

We walked through Brooklyn Heights, which was very pretty. At the last rest stop, we all got our pink Avon shirts, and Sue got an ice pack for a sore shin (thanks to the hills!)

Sue getting medical help

After the last rest stop, we had one more mile to go. That last mile was over the Brooklyn Bridge, which was very striking - especially seeing all the pink shirts!

On the bridge

We finally arrived at the South Street Seaport, where Maria greeted us with open arms! It was great to see her, since we hadn't seen her since Saturday night. All the walkers and crew hung out for a while, waiting for the very last walkers to arrive. It was a little weird, being surrounded by Walkers with their friends and family - and us not knowing anyone. Walking in New York was very cool, but I missed being in Chicago, because there's something about walking in your own city that's even better. Finally we all lined up to walk into Closing Ceremonies together, and who should we find, but Karen and Melanie!

Maria and I

Somehow the Trash Crew found us for Closing Ceremonies, which was no easy task with all those people! Closing ceremoinies were very touching, particularly the speech made in Chinese by a Chinese woman who had recently moved to New York and spoke no English. Thanks to the Avon foundation, she recived a breast cancer screeing - and she was found to have the disease. Now she is pursuing treatment, aided by the Avon Foundation. It was very moving to hear from someone who has actually been helped by our efforts.

At Closing Ceremonies

After the ceremony, we retrieved our luggage from the gear area, and made the trek to Karen and Kyle's apartment in Queens. I am very glad they participated in the weekend!

Resting up before the trek home

The sore legs, lack of sleep and blisters were a small price to pay for the experience of walking to help fight breast cancer. Advances are being made day by day, and more and more women and men are being treated and are beating the disease. I am fortunate that I have not lost a loved one to breast cancer, and that the people I walked for are all fighters and survivors. I want to thank them all for inspiring me and other women and their families - breast cancer is not a guaranteed death sentence. Soon it will no longer be a disease.

Thank you to all my sponsors and supporters - your support means the world to me and to the women I walk for.
THANK YOU!

I walked for you


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