This morning Aunt Jen and I kicked off our three-day walking party here in Washington, DC. We are doing the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure to raise money for breast cancer research. This event and cause were particularly appropriate to celebrate Jen’s 70th birthday, given that this year also marks five years since she finished her own treatment for breast cancer.
It was pretty incredible to see how many enthusiastic runners and volunteers came out for this event. Apparently there are about 2500 walkers here, which makes this event roughly the size of an ironman.
And while I thought it was pretty impressive for a 70-year-old to be able to walk 60 miles in 3 days, what I learned today is that, while this is most definitely not a race, Aunt Jen is not content to just cruise along. Oh no. Within the first mile, I was already being instructed to pass people. Pretty sure she would have thrown a couple elbows if she had to. I did persuade her to stop for a photo in front of the Capitol Building, though . . . Had to get our matching SkirtSports outfits on film!
The miles absolutely flew by today–I was truly surprised by this–I think because there was so much cool stuff to see. We walked past not just the Capitol Building but the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian Museum, the National Archives, the Bureau of Engraving, the National Cathedral, Sidwell Friends School (where the Obama girls go), Rock Creek Park, Dupont Circle, countless international embassies, and more.
And all along the way there were people dressed up like this to guide our way.
I must admit, though, that somewhere in Georgetown we missed a turn because, at that point, I am pretty sure there were only about two people in the whole event ahead of us, so we didn’t have much to follow. Bonus miles.
Soon after this, I had to stop taking photos because it started raining. The second half of our walk was in the rain, with the last few miles in the pouring rain. Still, we just kept reminding ourselves how lucky we were that it was not cold and rainy and that we were fortunate to have escaped the rain for half of our walk today.
Plus, as soaked as we were, we reached here –the end of day one–at 12:30, and apparently they were expecting folks til 6:45 this evening. Now that would be a lot of time on feet and in the rain! My legs were definitely tired by the end of today’s adventure but by the time I hit the pool this evening all felt okay; and with the swim to loosen things up, I think I will be good to go tomorrow!
Just hoping the shoes dry by then!
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Great cause, slight correction.. white house pic = US Capitol Building.. WH on Pennsylvania
brilliant! of course …. clearly i am slightly brain -fried! thank you
Congratulations little duck and auntie!
What a cool aunt you have, you should have brought your wetsuits too. that rain looks like it caused a flood
Here in london they do a 26 mile night walk with women wearing bras (over t-shirts or just the bras) but trust you americans to go for the extreme stuff and stage a 3 day walk! Keep it up
I’m not surprised…for my daytime job I produce a show all about people like your aunt, who believe that it’s not about age; it’s about attitude. In fact, I started getting into triathlon when my lazy, dieting self covered a Masters triathlon – all athletes over 40 – and saw how freaking amazing they were.
BTW, have you seen Kate Edwards? She and her fiance are walking to honor her mother (Elizabeth).
love this, katy!! i did not realize that cate was walking–must look for her tomorrow! she was actually a friend of my sister’s at law school–small world!
This is so cool! I definitely want to do one of these walks. They have one in Atlanta, but Washington would be awesome. That is where my Aunt-the most recent of MANY family members I have lost to Cancer, lived. Aunt Jen is amazing!!
My dear girl,
You are such a “Class Act”. The more you give of your time and energy makes me feel tired, but it certainly works for you. Love you!
You ladies look amazing! What a noble effort!
What a great day – it’s these days that you’ll remember for so long. And what a great place to be doing a 3 day walk. Nice work!
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