Woman goes through 60 mile ordeal to support cancer research
Published: October 15, 2005
Debi Floyd, 31, is back in The Villages after walking 60 miles for breast cancer research. And although the callouses on her feet are fading, the memories of the weekend aren’t.
She left at dawn to travel to Tampa’s 3-Day Breast Cancer walk last week, joining a crowd of some 2,000 other walkers.
They began at 7 a.m. Friday, covering their first 8 miles between 10:30 and noon, and finishing 20 miles by the end of each of the three days.
Then, sweaty and exhausted, they set up their sleeping tents for a night of camping, hoping for some solid rest. Their hopes were dashed.
”That was definitely the most challenging,“ Debi said. ”Friday night in the tent.“
Debi is no softy. During her life, she has camped out in snow and rain, run marathons, hiked in Alaska’s wilderness, and even crossed paths with wild bears and moose.
But on Friday night, a relentless rain began. And the overused tents did little to keep the elements at bay.
”I’ve camped for years, but I’ve never been that wet,“ she said. ”I’ve camped in snow, (but) I’ve never been that miserable as I was that night.“
”So it’s 2 o’clock in the morning, it’s raining, water starts coming in, you’re freaking out, you’re trying to figure out what to do,“ she said. ”The tarp doesn’t do anything, it just runs down the side.“
Campers throughout the site were in the same dilemma.
”You could hear everybody struggling, rustling around, trying to get or move their tarps. You never heard anybody talk; you could just hear a lot of action.“
With her towels, she tried to make little dams to keep the water away from where she was sleeping, all to no avail.
”The rain would stop and you’d fall back to sleep,“ Debi said. ”And it would start again.“
Although her sleeping bag was soaked, advice posted on the 3-Day’s message board saved her camera, her cell phone and some of her extra clothes. A veteran walker had warned participants to put everything in sealable plastic bags.
The next day the walkers headed off, exhausted and tired. The rain had made Saturday Debi’s most difficult day.
But she had mentally prepared to face the elements. And although she could have quit whenever she wanted to, it was important to her to finish.
Before the walk, she had said, ”Like when people are going through treatment and they’re sick, and they just don’t want to do it another day, but they go anyway,“ she says. ”That’s why, no matter what the weather is like, no matter what happens, we’re going to keep going. It just has to be done.“
And she kept going.
Even though her wet socks rubbed blisters on her feet.
Even though the rain returned.
Even though the miles ahead seemed endless.
She kept going.
Although Debi had begun her walk alone, throughout the weekend, she made many new friends as others walked beside her. The walkers, who were men and women of all ages, from teenagers to seniors, were encouraged by bystanders who gathered at cheering stations along the route as they wound through Tampa and St. Petersburg. Many of the walkers had survived cancer, but many more had been touched by it. Debi, however, surprised her new companions because she had never lost a close friend or relative to the dread disease. She was striding to keep her loved ones protected.
”There’s definitely a high risk in our family,“ she said. ”It’s the only thing I really feel that I can do to protect them, or even myself or my friends.“
During the walk, Debi experienced moments that became embedded in her memory, moments that still cause her to catch her breath.
What moved her most was the sight of the strangers on the sidelines. Some people battling the disease, their bald heads wrapped in scarves, called out words of support.
”You knew they were going through something themselves, and they were there encouraging us,“ she said, a hand over her heart. ”They weren’t afraid to look in your eyes. And they were thanking me.“
Debi felt ”unworthy“ of their thanks, even though she had spent months raising $3,300 for breast cancer research. She surpassed the $2,100 goal set for each walker.
”I just keep picturing them in my mind,“ she said.
Many of the walkers were elated on the third day. They walked the last mile together in ceremony, dressed in symbolic shirts: Pink for survivors, white for supporters. Debi’s parents greeted her at the finish line.
”You feel a little of everything,“ she recalled. ”You feel really supported, loved by these people you don’t even know, who you’re never going to see again.“
The Tampa walk raised about $5 million for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and The National Philanthropic Trust. It was one of 12 walks staged across the nation in the hope of generating $30 million for breast cancer research.
During her first day back at her job at Starbucks in Market Square, Debi said it felt odd not to be walking, and she missed the other walkers.
”I felt really good to be part of it,“ she said. ”That’s for sure.“ she said.
She is still raising funds for breast cancer research through her Web site: www.shopthevillages.com/debi CQ TLF. And she says she will be raising funds for other cancer research activities in the future.
Still wearing the pendant of a silver turtle, which represents a time in her life when she ”didn’t do things,“ the soft-spoken redhead reflected, ”I think the shell has been put aside for a while.“
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