Waco Women Walk for the Cure

Waco Trib staffer Cindy Tomlinson really walks the talk.

She'll walk nearly 500 miles of it before November.

November 7 --9 is the date for the upcoming Dallas/Fort Worth Breast Cancer 3-Day, benefiting the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Cindy Tomlinson is one of the co-captains of Team Waco; along with Starr Fogle, Cindy has already helped Team Waco raise over $14,000 this year.

The November 3-Day is a sixty-mile walk-a-thon, spread over three days. The DFW 3-Day is one of fourteen national November walks, each designed to raise funds for breast cancer research. Individuals and teams seek sponsorship throughout the year, and Team Waco's goal of $30, 000 seems well within reach.

This is not your everyday walk in the park. Team Waco, along with hundreds of other women around Texas, began their 24-week training schedule this month. At the end of the training, each member will have walked 500 miles or more.

" The physical commitment is almost overwhelming, but nothing compared to the treatments that the breast cancer patients endure. This is our way of saying that we are there to help fight breast cancer with you!" says Tomlinson.

The race is an experience in endurance and bonding. Tomlinson describes her experience in last year's race:

"The first day, we were so high on adrenalin we just bounced thru it. The first evening in the shower trucks was awkward and tested our modesty-- again, nothing compared to breast cancer treatments-- so we decided that we were thankful for our good health and slowly crept back to our tent...

The 2nd day, the blisters emerged and we found out what we’re really made of. We
tried to treat the blisters but failed miserably and decided to check out the medical tent. The medics worked miracles (I admit I may still have a crush on the medic that worked on me) and we continued the walk. Our pace was a little slower but we walked every mile! We were happy to see the shower trucks the second night. That warm shower may be the best shower I’ve ever taken in my life! Another night in the tent!

The 3rd day was the big challenge. We didn’t have adrenalin helping us anymore. We were tired, sore, had blisters, but determination was on our side! Our pace was even slower but we continued to walk. Some of us decided as the day wore on that we had reached our physical limits and rode in the sweep vans. Amazingly there were no feelings of failure. We did our part. We raised the money. We pushed ourselves physically. We were victorious! And we were there to cheer on all of the other walkers! All 6 of the Team Waco members are walking again this year!"

Tomlinson says that she had already been involved with the Susan G. Komen Race for years, when a couple of her co-workers with diagnosed with skin cancer. She says, " I wanted to help them but didn’t know how. Starr Fogle and I decided that we could do more by participating in the 3-Day."

Tomlinson ways that there are already twelve members on the 2008 Team Waco, plus another Waco team of five. There's still plenty of time to get involved, as either a participant or a sponsor.

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Visit Team Waco's page on the 3-Day.Org website here

Or check out the Waco Trib blog Walk This Way, which chronicles the efforts of Cindy Tomlinsion, Starr Fogle, and the rest of Team Waco.

Team Waco also has a Windows LiveSpace with current updates here.