When I did my first Walk, my Mom was still living. She was a woman whose benevolence and generosity of spirit was unmatched. She was too sick to understand what I was doing, and she died after my second walk, but I know she would be proud of me and that means to world to me.

Since my first walk 10 YEARS AGO, over 400,000 women have died from breast cancer and I continue to walk because each year I am driven by the stories of the ones who have died, and inspired by the nearly 3 million who are fighting. By the time you have read through this, another woman has been diagnosed.

Every 3 minutes....

I walk each year for Tricia, a survivor who was my inspiration and for Jimmy, the Mom of my beloved friend Jim who kept fighting on before she slipped away, just days past my first walk. Jan Foster was this beautiful woman, glowing and healthy, she insprired me. I walk for Nancy J whose smile lit every room, who spoke to me and told me she was proud after my very first 26 miles and for Nancy Smith a wonderful, brave mother who was taken from my friend after a courageous battle with Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC). I will continue to raise awareness about IBC because it is a very deadly form of this disease.

I will walk for all of the friends and family members whose names I wear on my marathon tag each year and I'll keep at it and try to make a difference for as long as my legs will let me.

The ARMY OF LOVE, the swimmers and friends of the Shark Tank Racing Squad, have started their yearly campaign to raise money for AVON 39 by swimming miles of laps at our Marathon on February 26, 2017. Their past 6 Marathons have raised over $100,000! Since these children started this journey, we have seen several team Grandmothers diagnosed, we have been shaken by the death of a former team parent and we have seen SURVIVAL. This past year, however, Breast Cancer took our first Grandmother. She was a fighter, and we will honor her memory this year.

This marathon gives kids the opportunity to see how their actions can help others.

THANK YOU for coming here to support them and me!

PLEASE NOTE!!!
If you are here to support one of the swimmers in the Shark Tank Racing Squad, please be sure to leave a personal note saying who you are supporting. You can also call out to them in "How Would You Like Your Name to Appear" by typing in the name box something like Grandma Jane for Marylou Smith! Thank you SO much for your support.

Thank you for supporting me. There are not enough words to express to you how much this endeavor is a part of me. To donate online, please click the pink bar which says "donate now". If you would prefer to make a donation by check, that is terrific. Please email me at [email protected] for details.

Here at home, we have really had our ups and downs lately, but these challenges in life have a way of reminding you what is important, so it is time for me to get busy.

Thank you again. 

Patty