WTVT_Emily's Blog

It didn’t take long to figure out that there were many, many people with very tired feet on day three. But nevertheless, the last leg of our 60-mile journey went on. The pace was admittedly slower on Sunday, and in saying that I also speak for myself! After three days of walking for about eight hours a day, you start to feel aches and pains you might not have expected. That was me on Sunday.

We started out a little later for the final day, because we knew that no matter what time we finished, we would have to wait for the other walkers to finish at the end before closing ceremonies. So, we arrived at camp, and started walking around 8:00. For the final leg of the journey, we traveled through lots of St. Pete neighborhoods, including the old Northeast area, Snell Isle, and Shore Acres. Eventually, we finished by walking along the water in downtown, through Vinoy Park and next to the Pier. It was a beautiful day, and an even more beautiful place to end.

While our bodies might have been a little sorer, our spirits weren’t dampened. We even managed to hang on to our thundersticks right up until the very end. Of course, if you look at the pictures, you’ll notice that they’ve changed colors quite a bit. They started out hot pick, and by the end of the day on Sunday, they were more like a pale pink, and even white in some places. They got a lot of use, though—all the walkers knew us because of our sticks!

Roughly 1800 walkers started out on Friday, and from what several crew members told us, about 1400 of those walkers finished the entire route. Some were sidelined with blisters, and others even became dehydrated despite drinking water and Gatorade constantly. But everyone came out to Straub Park for closing ceremonies, which were well worth the wait.

After the last walker entered what they call the ‘holding area’, all the walkers, crew, and survivors lined up. Our friends and family had gathered near the stage, and we walked between them on our way in to the ceremony. That was very, very exciting, because there were literally thousands of people cheering and clapping for us. Many of them held signs that said ‘Thank you for walking’. That’s something we heard all along the way, but we never got tired of it.

The ceremony was short but sweet. All of the walkers formed a circle around the flag pole, where the 3Day flag was raised at the very end. The crew was led in and we cheered them on. Without their hard work, the walk would never be possible. They took care of everything from serving us lunches and dinners to bandaging our blisters and rubbing our tired feet. Those people are amazing—and they’re ALL volunteers.

When it was time for the survivors to make their walk in to the ceremony, all of the walkers dropped to one knee and took off one sneaker. We all held up our shoes in the air—so all you could see were shoes everywhere. It was such a cool moment. They, after all, are the reason the walk goes on.

It’s hard to believe the walk is over—as we said over and over all day on Sunday. Before we did it, I heard people say it was an experience that would significantly impact you. Now I see why. The people I met, the stories I heard, and the support we got from complete strangers is something I’ll never forget—and nothing could have been better than sharing it with two of my closest friends.

No matter how many blisters we might have had, how tired we were, how hard we had to train to get ready, or how stressed out we might have been while we struggled with fundraising, walking across that finish line made it all worth it. It’s something everyone should do once if they have the chance. The sense of accomplishment is overwhelming. The 3Day in Tampa Bay raised more than $4.8 million. If you ask me, that’s monumental.