Basically, how it worked was you started out, and every 3-4 miles was a pit stop with toilets, food, water and gatorade, and medical staff. Each pit stop had a theme and were really fun. Half-way through, you got lunch and then every 3-4 miles were more pit stops until you were done for the day. There were also cheering stations where people could come and cheer us on. I loved the cheering stations! Then when you got back to camp, you ate, showered, talked a bit and went to bed. That was what was supposed to happened for 3 days.
It was not the way it happened for me. By mile 15 on day one, I was so blistered, I had to take a bus to camp to get checked out. I was extremely dissapointed in myself and near tears when I got on that damn bus. Turns out, I also had a sprained tendon in my foot due to walking funny because of the blisters. Fabulous. I spent most of Saturday in the buses that took you from pit stop to pit stop. My feet were BAD and I am losing both pinky toenails. It is pretty! I maybe walked 4 miles on Saturday. I bacame Megan's official "Pit Stop Cheering Section" I finally realized that I was there for the experience and not for the walking, pulled myself out of my hole of self-pity and began to enjoy myself again. On Sunday, my feet were feeling a titch better. I told Megan to leave without me and I would catch up with her at lunch. I felt so bad because I know she wanted to go faster than I was capable of. She was very nice about everyting though. She totally didn't mind and walked with some great women we met. I ended up walking about 8 miles on Sunday. I was very proud of that. I walked it by myself and really enjoyed it after the 3rd mile and my feet went numb.
It is going to be a long time before I can eat granola bars or drink gatorade again. I am sickofit! I might also not wear pink til after Christmas. I saw LOTS of pink the last 3 days.
Below are the best and worst of the event, and then, of course, some pics.
Best:
My fellow walkers. They were amazing.
Getting to spend so much time with Megan. That girl is a warrior princess! She walked all 60 miles and only got one little blister.
The WHOO HOO guy. This 15 year old kid was everywhere! He would be stationed along the path and the only thing he would say was "WHOO HOO!" He is a 3 day hero.
The lady who had a sign out in front of her house that said "Restroom available here!" How nice is that?
The little old lady sitting in her lawn chair who had a sign that said "Cancer has messed with the wrong bitch!"
The food. Not bad considering they were feeding 2,000 people.
The people who stood out on their lawns with water or hoses to mist us down.
All the crew. These people rock. They were happy from sun-up to sun down.
The Kid Crew. A dad and his 3 kids were there every day cheering us on. Very kind.
Larry. This guy is phenomenal. He was just a older man who made it his mission to be exactly where you needed him to be just cheering everyone on for 3 days.
The worst:
Blisters. I got them early and they really hampered my walking. I was so bummed.
The heat. It was HOT!
Sleeping on the ground. Not so fun.
Feeling like a failure. I hate that feeling.
The funniest:
Taking a shower in the men's shower. Yep. That's me. Mrs. Cool. I just didn't pay attention. I walked in, it was empty so I got nekky and started to shower. Apparently, a dude came in, saw my Dora the Explorer pack and my feminine feet and patiently waited for me to finish and kept all the other guys out. Can you imagine how bad it could have been? I could have put on a show or seen some weenies if someone had been in there. Thank goodness there were individual stalls.
At opening ceremonies all ready to go.
At a pit stop on the first day.
What my feet looked like both nights at camp.
Tent city
Hanging out in the tent.
Hanging out in front of the tent. Like my bubb??
Megan chilaxin at camp.
Lunch on the last day. My feet were about to fall off here.
We did it!
After you finished, this is the tunnel of walkers that greeted the finishers. It was truly amazing.
Did I have an amazing time? YES!
Will I do it again next year? HELL NO!
I think next year I am going to be a "walker stalker." These were the people that were not officiated with the event at all but were just everywhere cheering you on with candy, popcicles, and encouragement. They meant more to me than anyone else.
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