‘Super Emotional’ End to San Diego’s 3-Day Walk to Halt Curse of Breast Cancer

Dressed in pink, participants in the annual Susan Komen 3-Day walk for breast cancer research smiled and waved this weekend as they passed San Diego landmarks.

But moods changed when asked why they took part. Lips began to quiver and voices crack. It’s all so emotional.

Many of the nearly 2,000 walkers had photos and names of loved ones pinned to their backs. They carry the hurt on their trek.

They left Friday morning from the Del Mar Fairgrounds. And after walking nearly 60 miles and camping two nights at Crown Point, they entered Waterfront Park downtown Sunday afternoon.

“Finally! We made it!” was heard as they stepped onto a pink walkway under a banner.

In the end, walkers aged 16 to 88 raised $6.3 million. That’s in addition to money raised earlier this year in Boston, Denver and Dallas/Fort Worth.

Yes, they raised funds for cancer research before they took their first steps. But the walk is about paying tribute to mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters and friends.

And that’s where the tears came.

“I walk for my grandma. She died when I was 5,” said Jeanna Rattenborg of Eugene, Oregon.

“My mom, who is a survivor, she was diagnosed five years after my grandma and survived because of advancements that Komen had made in research for new drugs,” she added. “That’s why she’s alive, so that’s why I do it.”

‘I Feel Her Presence’

The 40-year-old, in her 10th Komen walk, admitted that it’s a “huge” commitment, but “I want to find a cure in my lifetime. And my grandma, I feel her presence.”

Because family members have been struck with breast cancer, she figures her odds are higher of falling ill. She gets yearly mammograms and hopes for medical breakthroughs.

The most difficult aspect of the event was fundraising, she said.

For the first time, walkers were given the option of going one, two or three days. Three-day walkers are required to raise $2,300; two-day walkers, $1,800; and one-day folks, $750.

“I mean, the walking’s hard,” Rattenborg said. “It’s not as hard as breast cancer. There are so many people in this event that are actually currently fighting breast cancer.

“And so, if they can do it, it’s just mind over matter, one step in front of the other.”

Seth Sharp, 45, of the Olympia, Washington, area also was walking for his late grandmother.

“We lost her a few years ago to breast cancer,” said Sharp, wearing a pink tutu. He said he was doing his part to raise money as a member of a walking team.

“It’s fun for us and we love it,” he said, calling it a “super emotional thing.”

Judy Amiano of Dana Point also walked with a team.

‘So Inspirational’

Amiano, on her sixth breast cancer walk, talked about people she met on the multi-day journey.

“It’s so inspirational for me to see women you’re walking beside who are survivors, who were very young and have an uncertain future,” she said at the last rest stop at Balboa Park. “And so, all of us women need to band together. Because, you know, the metastatic breast cancer is killing us.”

At pit stops, organizers provided drinks, snacks, medical aid and portable toilets.

Amiano praised the “incredible” support from the community in San Diego.

Citing volunteers, a youth group, the Police Department and those who showed up to cheer, she said: “We’ve experienced other cities, but San Diego is the best. That’s why the friends are flying in from across the country to come here.”

One of Amiano’s walking mates, Robin Elm, 63, had her mother as inspiration. Her mother walked 60 miles when she turned 60.

“I’m doing it because I’ve lost too many family members to breast cancer and have pink warriors out there,” she said. “And I will continue to do this till we find a cure.”

Asked for the most difficult part of her journey, Elm, from the Atlanta area, said it was all of the “pink angels” on her mind.

Amiano’s other companion, Lisa Krumper, walked to honor her mother, a two-time breast cancer survivor.

Krumper, who did the Komen 3-Day with her mother in 2002, said: “We’re just going to keep walking” to raise money for a cure.

‘It’s a Lot of Fun’

Cheering on the three companions at the last pit stop was Amber Williams who used to be a walker but now is a member of the support crew at the medical tent.

She began to suffer hip and knee pain, but still wanted to lend a hand.

“So I keep doing it and it’s addictive. It’s a lot of fun,” Williams said.

She kept in mind her mother, a breast cancer survivor, and mother-in-law who lost her battle with the disease.

Over the weekend, Williams had seen a lot of blisters and some muscle strains in the medical tent.

As they neared the finish line, a few walkers limped in and others had the help of walking sticks.

But most still had the energy to dance during the 4 p.m. closing ceremony.

After passing under the finish line, they headed for their shirts and medals. Then it was off to the grass for the ceremony.

The support staff was thanked first. Then it was the crowd of survivors. Walkers raised a shoe in honor of those who fought the cancer battle and were still standing.

And those who walked while still fighting metastatic cancer were acknowledged.

“You are the reason we walk,” said the announcer. “You are the reason we fundraise. You are the ones who inspire us each and every day.”