A Different Kind of Tour

I completed the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in San Francisco on July 11th and 12th. I walked 13.1 miles on Saturday and another 13.1 on Sunday for a marathon total of 26.2 miles. I could not have designed a better tour of San Francisco. The itinerary, the tour group and the tour guides were inspired and unique.

I walked with Debbie, my dear friend from high school. She is a 10-year breast cancer survivor. Yep, 10 life-affirming years. Debbie was a lucky talisman for so many walkers who found such hope from meeting someone who has not only survived, but thrived. And this gal can throw out so much love and support in the briefest of conversations.

We started at Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park, continued through The Presidio, over the Golden Gate Bridge and then trailed along the bay through Sausalito. Buses hauled us back to Crissy Field for dinner. On Sunday, we trekked a terrific loop through so many great neighborhoods, starting with the Marina, down Polk to Civic Center, through South of Market, up and up and up the cement mountains of Potrero Hill, then over to Mission Dolores Park for a quick lunch before heading through the Castro and the Panhandle to Speedway Meadow for the closing ceremony.

My tour companions were amazing. Funny, hopeful, helpful, loving women and men, all walking in support of breast cancer research and treatment, but each with their own reasons for walking. Teams with funny names – Dudes for Boobs, Save Second Base, Save the TaTas. I walked behind a man for a few miles whose T-shirt said — I walk for my wife, Anne, 1944 to 2009. I spent a few blocks with a 17-year old girl who had lost her mother five years earlier. Such a poignant mix of sorrow and humor.
This tour group knows that every day counts.

Our tour guides — the crew, the volunteers, the cheerleaders, the police, and medical team. Unbelievable! Their support, music and jokes kept the walkers fresh and looking forward to our next surprise. Red-nosed clowns served our lunches. San Jose police officers on bikes blared disco tunes, offered us sun block and slow danced with us while we waited in line at portable toilet stops.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

We created our own community for the weekend in our own time-warped bubble. Many walkers have already signed up for the 2010 walk. I don’t know if I will. I’m not ready yet to move into the future. Right now I want to rest in my memories of that singular experience, that magical mystery tour of working for a cure.

Note: I completed the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer on July 11th and 12th in San Francisco.  I walked 26 miles over 2 days with my dear friend from high school, Debbie Sutter.  We celebrated Debbie’s 10 year anniversary of beating breast cancer.  I still have not hit my minimum donation level, so if you’d like to donate to programs supported by the walk, please go to info.avonfoundation.org.  You can do a participant search for my web page and make a donation.  Thanks!