“You’re gonna want to train for that, or your feet will be hamburger!”
I had just signed up to walk sixty miles in one weekend. Dan Pallotta had begun organizing wildly challenging fundraisers, under the slogan “I’mpossible.” People biked from San Francisco to LA to raise money for AIDS education. We walked from Santa Barbara to Malibu to raise money for breast-cancer awareness. A year or two later, some gigantic event was happening in Africa, also to raise money related to AIDS.
The aim was to set a high bar—if you want to participate in this walkathon, you need to raise a couple thousand dollars—to keep the tourists away. (If you’ve ever participated in a 40,000-member event, you know what I mean by ‘tourists.’) And walk 60 miles—or ride 500. The bar had to be high enough that you were not quite sure you could accomplish it (the fundraising OR the walking!). By the time you managed to cross the finish line, suddenly you knew you were capable of almost anything.
My friend was a massage therapist—she knows feet. So I listened when she warned about the need for training. The 3-Day had a suggested training program, with mileage increasing no more than 10% a week. You’ve got to get in your “feet time” when preparing for any distance-walking venture, so those feet are ready to carry you for many miles in a short period of time. If the proposed route has hills, you want a training plan that includes hills, so you’re ready when you encounter them.
One of the most amazing experiences was comparing the walk up a steep hill on our training route four months before the walkathon, and then four weeks before. Where we had staggered to the top with plenty of rest breaks to catch our breath, now we eased around the corner and nearly charged up the hill with no huffing and puffing at all. We were READY.
This isn’t really about a walkathon, of course. It’s about grit. And commitment. And determination. And maybe a little bit of faith. And a willingness to get hurt, or dirty, or bad-hair-ey, all in the presence of 4000 of your closest friends.
What is the biggest challenge you have set for yourself? (I later walked 500 miles across Spain.)
What did it take for you to believe in yourself enough to embark on that challenge?
How did you train? Is there anything you would do differently to prepare yourself (or those in your life at the time)?
How did it feel to cross your own “finish line” at the end of the challenge?
We all want to hear your story—hope you’ll share it in the comments.
If you want to turn that story into something bigger, I’m all ears—send me a DM.
Business Development Specialist
2mowas amazing to work with you guys! Can't wait to see what comes next!!