I’d like to extend a big welcome to our newest team member, Kalyn Fuller! Our team is kind of scattered amongst three cities, so Kalyn is a welcome addition as a team member and training partner for our other team member in Mississippi! Welcome Kalyn!
If you think that you might be interested in joining our 3-Day team, please go to http://www.the3day.org/goto/booty and click Register to Join!
You can get a lot of strange looks when you tell people that you are going to walk 60 miles over three days and camp in tents at night. They get less and less when you do it over the years, but inevitably there is always someone that thinks you are off your rocker. So, here’s how I got involved and why I continue to do it:
Three years ago, my sister approached me for a donation. She told me about this walk that a friend of hers had gotten her to sign up for and that she had to raise $2300. Oh, and to top it off, she was going to walk 60 miles. I’m not really sure why, but when she described it to me, it really sounded like something I needed to be doing. I asked her if I could join her team instead of donating and she said yes, so off we were.
That first year, I didn’t have too hard of a time raising the minimum, but I didn’t do too much above it. I didn’t really have a huge reason for walking except that it was something that I could do with my sister and my mother-in-law is a breast cancer survivor. When you get on the walk, one of the top questions that other walkers ask you is, “why are you walking?” A lot of them have very compelling reasons, and I really got to thinking. My reasons have kind of evolved over the past three years, but they are all rooted in the same thing. I’m walking for my wife. When we were dating, her mother got breast cancer and she had to watch her go through that fight. I don’t ever want her to have to fight a battle with breast cancer. So, I walk in honor of my mother-in-law and I walk for my wife.
Over time, my reasons have evolved. I’ve got a sister (and teammate) and mom that I walk for. I walk so that my two sons don’t ever have to see someone they love go through this.
So that’s why I walk and how I got involved in a nutshell. If you’re considering taking on the 3-day, it’s a wonderful experience and it’s a great thing to raise money for. If you have questions, please contact me and I would be glad to answer questions!
I’ve been meaning to post this for a little bit now, but you can follow me on Twitter for up to date updates on what’s going on in my Three Day Experience, information on breast cancer and ways that you can help.
When we get up to the actual walk, I’ll be posting updates through there, so it’s the best place to follow what’s going on with me and all things 3-Day! Here it is:
As you can see, the Speed Gamers did an awesome job fundraising! Combined, we have raised almost $12,000! But we’re not done yet! You can help out by donating to my teammate and sister. She has less than $2,000 to go to meet her goal. To help things along, I have agreed to match 20% of the first $2000 raised between now and the end of August. Here’s what that means for you! If you contribute $20, it will be like you’re contributing $25! Your money will work harder! Please take a moment to donate at:
http://www.the3day.org/goto/julie.kauffman
Thanks again for all of your help!
Yeah, it’s a cheezy title, but the fact is that I walked both Saturday and Sunday this week with 4.1 and 4.6 miles respectively. I averaged about 16.5 minutes/mile which isn’t breaking any land speed records, but it was faster than I trained with last year. I think that walking at this faster pace now will help me on the walk to walk further without getting injury.
Big thanks to my wife for motivating me to get out there and walk. I know she doesn’t probably realize it, but asking questions like, “When do you think you’re going to walk today” kinda forces the issue of yes I did say I was going to walk today. I didn’t realize that not having someone in your team local was going to be hard to get motivated, so that’s a big help.
