Jillian roped us in for the 2009 Breast Cancer 3-Day. I say "roped us in"...she suggested we join her, it sounded like a good idea, so I registered. After that first year, I was hooked. I cannot imagine a year without a 3-Day. This year did not disappoint. Because of my own health issues, Amy, Jillian, and I decided to brave the experience called Crew in 2011. Crew members spend the weekend making sure that every walker has a true 3-Day experience.
Being a part of the Crew was a different 3-Day experience...one that I'm so very happy to have had. I was able to meet and interract with SO MANY wonderful people. I had time to talk to walkers as they embarked upon their journey...greet those walkers as they struggled into camp...and in between, I worked alongside our amazing Crew teams. I met fellow survivors...women who'd lost mothers...husband walking alongside their wives...and children walking & crewing (as part of the Youth Corps - amazing group of kids) because they saw how important it was to the grown-ups in their lives.
We began our 2011 3-Day with the All Crew meetings on Thursday. We assembled lanyards, checked in crew team members, met our fellow Camp Services teammates, and prepared to greet our walkers the following morning.
After a delicious meal at Bone Fish in Novi, we headed to Mom & Dad Camp to rest up...having to be at the Opening Ceremony at 4:30 am meant an EARLY wake-up call! As someone put it...the alarm went off at "o-dark thirty". And so began the 2011 3-Day for the Cure.
We met up with Tim at Opening Ceremony and paused for a Team Tyrannosaurus Racks photo op.
Camp Services' duties include checking walkers into the route. After a quick training on the scanners...we prepared to greet our first walkers!
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| There's plenty of silly at the 3-Day |
Next order of business...breaking down the Opening Ceremony site. We moved barricades, picked up tables, and loaded trucks. We did make time to do a little shopping in the 3-Day Shop.com truck, of course.
What a gorgeous day for the 3-Day!!! Friday was cooler (well, I guess if you can call 84 cool) and sunny. We made our way to camp to beging preparing our areas for the walkers to arrive around noon. We set up areas for Legacy Pins (recognizing walkers/crew members' accomplishments), an Information Table & Tent, Towels in the shower area (Owen is so mad that I didn't take a picture of the shower trucks for him), the Check-In area, the camp Post Office, and, my favorite, "Save Your Spot"...a table where we were registering walkers and crew members for the 2012 event. Well over half of the people that I encountered during my shifts at that table registered for next year...people with blisters, shin splints, and all kinds of various injuries...still they were anxious to sign up for another year. And yes, it really is THAT good. :)
We had a quick lunch in the dining tent (biggest tent I've EVER seen...picture a tent large enough to hold enough tables & chairs to seat over 2000 people!!! Plus a stage!). The first walkers began arriving, and it just got busier and crazier!!! We staffed the tables in the 3-Day Lounge for most of the afternoon - answering questions, helping walkers navigate camp, and, as I said above, registering folks for 2012.
We were able to take a quick break during the afternoon to cheer Team Tyrannosaurus Racks' walker into camp. We are all SO proud of Tim for his amazing 60-mile journey this weekend!
We fell into bed after 10 PM that night, completely and utterly exhausted.
Saturday dawned early again...we had to be in camp by 6 am and were tasked with the VERY important job of bringing the Camp Services crew some real coffee!!! We were greeted with many smiles as we arrived in camp with our cartons of Tim Horton's coffee. :) We cheered and danced our walkers onto the route then until 8:00 am. It's kind of eerie how quiet the camp gets when 1500 people leave!
Since we did have some down-time until the walkers would begin returning to camp, after we finished opening up all of our gold medals (our team theme was Olympic Excellence, so each walker received a gold medal upon entering camp on Saturday), we found a cozy spot to curl up for a short siesta.
Once again, the walkers began arriving shortly after lunch. Our afternoon duties included a nice long stint at the check-in area - we had a BLAST cheering our walkers into camp after Day 2. Lots of good music, amazing new friends, and unbelievable walkers made it an afternoon that I'll never forget.
Talk around camp focused on blisters, aching muscles, Sunday's route, the fantastic cheering station in Plymouth...and rain. Lots of rain in the weather radar. We spent a bit of time huddling under the large dining tent and in the 3-Day Lounge watching the lightning streak across the sky and the rain beat down on camp.
Sunday marked our first 3-Day rainy day. We've experienced hot and humid, but we've been very lucky with the wet stuff. Sunday morning it drizzled off and on...and it continued throughout the day. After ushering the walkers onto the route, we trekked off in our FANTASTIC rain gear to ensure that Rotary Park was left as beautiful as when we arrived.
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| Smokin' Hot! |
Closing Ceremony was amazing, as usual. Cheering in all of the walkers, greeting our families, and saying good-bye to friends...lots of teary smiles all around! But it was worth every minute...from the 3:30 am wake-up call on Thursday to the soggy socks on Sunday...I love the 3-Day!!! Who's in for 2012?!
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| Cheering is much more fun with bongos! |
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| Self Portrait!!! |
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| Walking in with the Survivors...this is how our walkers and crew greet us. |
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| Survivor's Circle...and the tossing of the roses |
3 comments:
It was an amazing time. I am so happy to have spent it with you! Looking forward to our "3-peat"!!!
Love ya,
Amy
You make me proud to be your Dad.
Great post, MB! Looks like such an amazing event. Loved all the pics!
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