Passion Pundit

The 1st Why 60 Miles winner is here.

A random selection of one of this site’s subscribers won a free gift (up to $25) from the Old Lady Walking store.

Jan Shapard is the lucky winner of the $25 gift certificate.

Thank you to all who have signed up for the monthly newsletter with blog updates and other news.

If you’d like to know what’s going on at Why 60 Miles, sign up by completing the sidebar form.

As a bonus, you’ll receive a free copy of 60-Mile Walk Survival Guide from an old lady walking. You won’t have to walk 60 miles to receive your copy.

Go ahead. Live vicariously through this old lady. I don’t mind.

Why 60 Miles Prize Lives On

I decided to offer the chance to win another $25 gift certificate to the Old Lady Walking store two more times in 2014.

• The second Why 60 Miles prize contest closes at the end of August 31, 2014
• The third Why 60 Miles contest closes at the end of December 31, 2014

The “rules” remain the same.

• A random drawing will be held
• The winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to the store

All subscribers (excluding previous winners) are eligible for the contest. If you are already signed up, your name will be included.

Thanks again to all who signed up and congratulations to Jan.

Walk on!

I’ll let you in on a not-so-secret secret.

Why 60 miles opened its virtual door a few months back.

Consider this is our official blogwarming. We still have housekeeping and design tweaking to do but welcome to our humble space.

60 Miles Prize

To get this party started, I will be giving away a token from my Old Lady Walking store.

I prefer simple steps and a choice, whenever possible. Here are the “rules”.

• Sign up for blog updates (published about once per month)
• A random drawing will be held on Tuesday, July 1, 2014
• The winner can choose an item up to $25 in value from the store

Don’t worry. If you are already signed up, your name will be thrown in the hopper.

My store has three categories:

1. Boomer Humor
2. Crush Cancer
3. Fight Like A Girl

If you see another Zazzle product you like, I can customize it with any of the available store logos.

60 Miles Virtual Tour

Please  take a look around. The video below offers a virtual tour, highlighting what 60 miles is about.

I hope we can share the journey together.  If you would like to share your story or have ideas for what you would like to see, please send me a message through my Contact Cathy form.

Thank you for dropping by!

Walk on.

 

 

At what point does an act become passion?

Is there a magic moment or set repetition that moves participation into passion?

I often wonder what prompted a 50+ (now 60+) woman to walk 60 miles in 3 days. Over and over again.

I thought the answer was my sister being diagnosed with breast cancer.

But that was just the kick in the pants.

Long before I strapped on my walking shoes, the passion for the event ignited.

Passion Ignited

In the late 1990s, I saw a group of women making their way down Channel Islands Boulevard in southern California. There may have been men, too, but I only saw women.

There were hundreds of women walking.

While waiting at a stoplight, I leaned out my window and asked what they were doing. Besides walking. Duh.

They were walking in what was then the Avon 3-Day Walk. From Santa Barbara, down the coast to Malibu. Wow.

I thought to myself, I need to do this.

Road Warrior work and life in general had other ideas. Years later, it was the call from my mother telling me my sister had breast cancer that kicked me off the couch.

Beyond 60 Miles

I was such a newbie that first Walk.

• I read every tip
• Trained for months
• Had a professional suggest my shoes

For all my enthusiasm, I never thought beyond that first Walk in 2003. Yet, here I am. Still walking.

Why?

I find that’s hard to explain. And I’m a writer. I wonder if I have to turn in my writer’s card.

What was it about seeing hundreds of women walking down the coast that so moved me? Long before I knew anyone with breast cancer.

After countless blisters, lost toenails, and scrapped shoes, I still walk. 60 miles in 3 days.

Why?

Recently, I heard Cheryl Strayed, the author of Wild, speak about her journey.

At age 26, Cheryl hiked more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. She had no experience or training to do that. Sounds familiar.

During her talk, Cheryl shared that she was glad her book, Wild, was not going to be more writing about her mother (who died of lung cancer at the young age of 45). What she discovered was the book (and her journey) was all about her mother.

I am hoping the journey that has led me here will shed light on this passion of mine.

I hope it answers the question, Why?

Walk on.

Despite tremendous advances in the treatment of cancer, the word still strikes fear in the heart of most people.

• I know my heart skipped a beat when I was diagnosed with skin cancer
• Even though I felt somewhat like an impostor

My form of cancer (basal cell carcinoma) is the most common and rarely spreads.

Still, I found myself not listening beyond the word cancer when my doctor’s office called with the diagnosis.

Do you ever feel like cancer is inevitable?

A Long History

Cancer has  a long history.

The mummies of ancient Egypt revealed evidence of cancer. It has been over 20 years since Jimmy Valvano’s stirring ESPY speech.

The World Cancer Research Fund International identifies the 5 most common cancers worldwide.

1. Lung
2. Breast
3. Bowel
4. Stomach
5. Prostate

The site shares a projection of 21 million cancer cases by the year 2030.

Makes you want to say ~

Enough is enough.

A favorite author of mine sets her stories in the future, the first in 2058 when you can receive anti-cancer injections. Will we see that day before 2058? I hope so.

In the meantime, we continue to walk, run, raise money and awareness for research.

Hopefully, one day soon enough will be enough.

Walk on.

 BigStock Photo Credit