Janet lives in upstate New York with her husband, Jerry. Together, they created The Valley Table, a wonderful monthly food magazine for the Hudson Valley.
On June 26 & 27, I walked 39 miles from Keystone to Breckenridge Colorado as part of the Rocky Mountain Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I walked alongside my 27-year-old niece, Claire. On our backs, we wore a small walker’s flag declaring, “I’m walking for….”
My flag read: “my sister, Nancy (a three-year survivor), Jane N, Ruth N” (my husband’s mother and stepmother, both of whom lost their lives to breast cancer) “and Grandma P” (my mother’s mother, who lost her breast to cancer). My niece walked for her Aunt Nancy and her friend’s mother Jeanne Fame. We walked with 1100 others—mostly women and a number of men–each donning a flag celebrating loved ones who had survived the beast or remembering those who hadn’t. The slogan for the walk was “In it to End it.” I confess, when I first committed to do the walk with my niece in February, I was getting in it to keep in shape, to force activity during New York’s long, cold winter. My niece had just had a break-up with her boyfriend, and she was getting in it to get over it. It took months of training—incrementally adding miles to weekly walks, meeting up (Claire from Manhattan, me from the Hudson Valley) to walk together, gearing up (running shoes, really good socks, shorts, tanks—we were walking advertisements for the Under Armour brand), shouting out to friends, family, workmates and anyone else for fundraising (the entry was a commitment to raise $1,800 for the Avon Foundation), fretting over whether I was really in shape to complete the walk, whether the altitude would affect me, whether I could keep up with my fit and athletic niece. And then there we were at the beautiful Keystone Resort along the Snake River, with snow-capped mountains surrounding us–all assembled at 7 a.m. in the brisk mountain air. Ready. 
I came to the walk prepared. But there was nothing that could quite prepare me for the raw emotion of the gathering of people standing for a common cause. At the opening ceremony, we learned we had collectively raised $2.6 million that would be distributed to local organizations; we heard from fellow walkers—a young woman “walking for her mom,” a husband “walking for his wife,” a survivor walking “because she could.” And then we were off, walking. I noticed the woman in front of me: “I’m walking for my mother, 1957-2003,” the same birth year as my sister, just two years older than myself. The tears flowed forth. Thank goodness I had 39 miles ahead and scenery to distract.
As we walked, we created a stream of people and a stream of energy. We made our way past beautiful lakeside resorts, western villages, over canyon streams, along highways and well-traveled bike paths. All along the way, cars honked, motor cyclists played music, people cheered, volunteers gave support–replenished water, offered food, checked on everyone’s status—were we OK? Thumbs up. The first 15 miles were a breeze; we’d done as many miles in NY. My oxygen level was a little low, but it recovered with a short stop at mile 13. Having the company of my athletic trainer niece as a walking buddy certainly helped, especially as we passed the 20-mile mark in the high canyon outside Frisco and every muscle ached. She kept our pace.
Claire at the tent campsite, end of first day
Some favorite memories: the two little girls who gave us high 5 at every cheer station (as they waited to cheer their Mom on); the dedicated husband who also made every station w/ pup at foot and video camera in hand to cheer his wife on; the woman who cheered us at mile 14, saying we looked like we were ready to break into a jog, and cheered us again at mile 22, saying we still looked strong. The last 4 miles of Day One were the toughest, but my sister surprised us and jumped in to walk a few miles with us. We did it, and after a delicious hot shower (in a souped up 18-wheeler), a satisfying plate of pasta and meatballs (everything tastes good after 26 miles at high altitude), and a refreshing night’s sleep (in a tent), we woke to a brisk beautiful morning, and, with just 13 miles to go, we felt strong.
Janet and Claire with sister Mary (Claire's mom) at end
We did, in fact, finish strong–among the first 50. We walked through the village of Breckenridge, ordered a local brew and steak lunch, and, as we toasted our survival, we started planning for another walk, a bigger team, another destination–next year. For whatever your reason–whether it’s to keep in shape, work through a life change, celebrate a loved one, the Avon walk (and it’s held throughout the country) is a great thing to do. Anyone in it to end it?
Some facts about breast cancer I learned along the way:
* Approximately 178,480 women and 2,030 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year * 40,460 women and 450 men in the U.S. will die from the disease annually. * There are over 2 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. who have been treated for breast cancer * Every 3 minutes, there is a new diagnosis of invasive breast cancer * There are more than 250,000 women under the age of 40 in the U.S living with breast cancer, and over 11,000 will be diagnosed this year * A woman has a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer in her lifetime * Every 13 minutes, a life is lost to breast cancer * White, non-Hispanic women are more likely to develop breast cancer, but African-American women are more likely to die from it. * Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Hispanic women and is the leading cause of cancer deaths among this group.
For more info on breast cancer, the cause and the Avon walk, visit http://www.avonwalk.org/cause/breast-cancer-information.html
Related posts:
- Beautiful Women of All Ages: Team Ra-Ras Kick Breast Cancer
- Amazing Women over 50: Gwendie’s Struggle with Cancer
- Beautiful Women Over 50: Fipsters on Parade
- Beautiful Women Over 50: Ans!
- Dr. Oz on Guarding Against Thyroid Cancer
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!
You are the best. Love you!
Janet,
Thanks for sharing your accomplishment with us on this site. I’ve often said I would do this walk but so far, never have. Bravo for you. It must have felt great. And, by the way I like your site, The Valley Table.