Blisters, More Blisters...All in the Name of a Good Cause

Imagine walking from Greendale to West Allis and back. Then imagine doing it again two more days in a row.

That's what it was like for Greendale residents Julie Schuster, Maureen Waterstraat and Jodi Sodemann as they participated in the Susan G. Komen "3 Day for the Cure" walk in Chicago earlier this month.

With multiple blisters finally healed, the trio sat down with Patch to talk about the experience.

They said the adventure started at a Boy Scout dinner this past spring, when Waterstraat and Sodemann noticed a pink ribbon charm on the bracelet Schuster was wearing. It was a gift from her husband Patrick for a previous breast cancer charity walk Schuster had done.

Intrigued, the women pressed Schuster for more details. She told them how she had done the Komen "3 Day" walk the past two years with a group of five grade school friends, in honor of one of them, Bethany Ames, who was battling the disease.

Waterstraat's mother had died from breast cancer twenty years earlier and she had a sister-in-law who was currently undergoing chemotherapy for it. Sodemann's stepmother had also been diagnosed with breast cancer. Both of the women had done the annual 5K Susan G. Komen breast cancer walk in downtown Milwaukee and Waterstraat had been wanting to do more, but wasn't sure what until she met Schuster.

At that momemt, Waterstraat said she felt she was being called to do the "3 Day" walk.

Over the next 16 weeks, the three women trained for the upcoming 60 mile walk, using the event's website as a guideline for their training regimen. They took long walks, shorter walks, walks alone and walks together, including the 18 mile walk from Schuster's Greendale home to her brother-in-law's home in West Allis. Schuster alone estimates she walked about 144 miles over the 4 month training period.

At the same time, the three kept busy fundraising, as each walk participant is required to raise a minimum of $2,300.

Sodemann said she was initially more anxious about the fundraising aspect than the actual walk, but donations flowed in from family, friends, co-workers and a few matching corporate gifts and each of the women reached their goal weeks before the deadline. 

"That took a lot of the pressure off," said Sodemann.

Day One of the walk started with an opening ceremony in Northbrook, a north shore suburb of Chicago. The women met up with Schuster's other friends, and the team - known as Bethany's Bosom Buddies - headed out. Bethany Ames, whose cancer was initially diagnosed and treated in 2007, was now fighting a recurrance that was affecting her brain, so she was pushed the entire event route in a wheelchair by her husband.

The day was very hot and humid, but the women said they took advantage of the rest and refreshment stops along the way, as well as the encouragement provided by the many people along the route who came out to cheer on the walkers.

After walking from approximately 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day, event organizers provided the walkers with dinner and the chance to share the day's camaraderie with other participants. Each night, the walkers stayed in pink tents provided for them.

Day Two started out rainy, but by noon the sun had returned along  with the humidity. By this time, Sodemann and Waterstraat were also suffering from multiple blisters on their feet. Sodemann's blisters were so bad, she consulted a podiatrist who had set-up a free treatment station along the route for the walkers.

When asked if they ever considered giving up and hitching a ride on the shuttle that walkers could take if they needed a break, both Sodemann and Waterstraat emphatically said "no way." They said they were determined to walk every step of the way and that whenever they got discouraged, they would look to the many people walking with them who had actually battled breast cancer.

"We never considered quitting," said Sodemann, "What we were going through was nothing compared to what the people fighting cancer were going through." 

Schuster added, "No matter how much you train physically, it doesn't prepare you for the mental and emotional parts of the event. You just don't know what to expect until you experience it." 

Day Three confronted the walkers again with rain - this time a downpour - and in addition to blisters, Waterstraat also was combatting an extensive heat rash on her legs. 

Sodemann said by this point, it hurt too much to even stop walking. So they kept going, taking it one step at a time, buoyed by the 'thank-you's" and cheers from on-lookers.

Sixty miles later, the walk ended with a closing ceremony at Soldier Field in Chicago. Friends, family members and other supporters were there to greet them.

The event's 1800 participants ultimately raised over $5 million dollars for breast cancer research.  

Looking back, the three Greendale women say they are glad they took part in the walk.

Sodemann said, "It was seven days after the event before even the thought of putting tennis shoes on my feet didn't make me cry, but looking back, it was fun, neat, a really inspiring thing to be a part of."

Schuster is already contemplating where she and her team will walk for next year's "3 Day for The Cure," as the event takes place in various cities throughout the U.S.

Waterstraat says it was one of the hardest things she's ever done, but was grateful for the experience and the new friends she made. Her advice to anyone considering doing the walk or a similar event?

"Get really good shoes, wicking socks and walk, walk, WALK!"