Karen and Erik

From Karen 11/09/2008 @ 7:34 AM

Good morning! It’s day 3 and the end is in sight. I have to be light on updates today because my phone battery is low so don’t worry if you don’t hear from me. If the phone dies before the last update I will send it from my dad’s house tonight. My blisters hurt and my legs are sore and we have to average 3 miles an hour to make it to closing in time. But I am ready to rock!

From Karen 11/09/2008 @ 11:38 Am

At lunch - done 9.7 miles and over halfway to the finish! Just had my first stop at the medical tent. At mile 6, one of my blisters popped and it hurt a LOT. Now I am wrapped and ready to finish. I had a great pace in the morning but now need to walk slower. But I am ready for this walk to be OVER.

From Karen 11/08/2008 @ 3:00 pm

Another pit stop and only 3.6 miles until camp. I AM HURTING. My legs,
shins, feet are sore to the bone. Another person I was walking with
just needed a sweep van - am I a jinx?

From Karen 11/08/2008 @ 4:36 pm

Day 2 done! I have now walked 41.9 miles. I have 5 blisters and am now
lying in my tent summoning the will to go shower. HURTING A LOT

From Karen 11/08/2008 @ 12:19 PM

Lunch time! 11.2 miles down, we are over halfway done for the day and the event. I have 3 blisters forming so I am taking care of those with supplies in my pack. The line for the medical tent looks very long so it’s good to know how to take care of blisters and basic first aid.
Lunch is chicken teriyaki wrap, fruit and chips. Talk to you at the next stop.

From Karen 11/08/2008 @ 7:55 AM

Good morning! I have coffee in me and the route is open. I want to get
started asap so I have more time at camp tonight. I’m surprisingly not
that sore today so that is a good sign. Today we are walking 20.7
miles, so not quite as long as yesterday. I’m Keeping a positive
attitude. Thanks everyone for your kind emails last night. Today I
will take a lot of pictures!

From Karen 11/08/2008 @ 9:25 AM

First pit stop, 3.2 miles down. Met up with some ladies who offered to
walk with me so I can also enjoy good conversation. Feeling good so
far and the weather is gorgeous.

From Karen 11/08/2008 @ 10:39 AM

Pit stop 2 and 6.5 miles down! A mile earlier there was a cheering
station where family and friends come out to cheer on the walkers. One
woman was proudly shpowing her bald head and shaking everyone’s hand
to say, thank you for walking for me”

From Karen 11/07/2008 @ 6:48 PM

What a difference a few hours makes.  My walking partner/tent mate/
best friend is out. She caught a bad cold two days ago and still
walked. Unfortunately, the walk took it out of her and she had to go
to the ER. She got a clean bill of health, but can not finish the 3
day. She worked so hard, training and raising $2500 for the event,
only to be stopped in day one. This event can be heartbreaking to
those unable to finish, and my heart is broken for her.

I finished the first day and because of the delays I was the last one
to camp. The sun was setting and I still had to pitch the tent. A crew
member came over, saw that I was alone and pitched the tent for me.
The girls in the next tent over inflated my air mattress for me. Then
I took a shower and cried.

I am now going to get dinner and then go to sleep. Tomorrow I walk
without my best friend, but I do not walk alone.

If you want to contact Karen directly and pass on some encouragement, you can email her at karenbgarrett at gmail dot com.

From Karen 11/07/2008 @ 3:28 PM

At pit stop 4 and going strong. We’ve gone 15.5 miles and have less than 6 to go. Things have been running slow due to the traffic delays along the route. But I feel confident we can finish in time today.

They are hurrying us because the route closes at sunset, which is in a few hours.

Thanks everyone for your replies! I can’t respond yet since we’re rushing but I love reading them.

From Karen 11/07/2008 @ 1:33 PM

Things are running behind - it’s 12:30 and the lunch stop is scheduled to close. But there are a couple thousand of us still waiting in line for lunch. They asked us to grab the lunch and take it to the next pit stop which is 1.6 miles away.
Met a woman who is walking to teach her students about way to help others. She seems like the kind of teacher that her students will always remember.

From Karen 11/07/2008 @ 2:27 PM

No time for a full update - pit stop about to close and they’ll make stragglers ride the bus to camp. But we’re at 13.1 miles - 8.1 to go until camp!

From Karen 11/07/2008 @9:49 AM

First pit stop, 3.2 miles down. Today we are walking 21.2 miles. The line for port-a-johns is very long. But we’re supposed to be drinking enough fluids to need to pee every hour. So we better get used to the lines.
I just heard a walker say the food tent has no more cheese snacks.
BOOO! The 2300 walker who came to the stop before me took them all.
The other couple of thousand behind me will also be disappointed.

From Karen 11/07/2008 @ 11:19 AM

I THOUGHT TEXAS WAS FLAT, WHAT’S THIS HILL ALL ABOUT?
First quick stop. A full rest stop (where I was last email) has bathrooms, food, beverages and a medical tent. Quick stops have beverages and bathrooms only. Now headed to the next stop. 6.4 miles down!

From Karen 11/07/2008 @ 12:02 PM

Rest stop 2 - playing kanye west and beyonce! Just talked to a walker who is 6 months pregnant and walking for her mom.

From Karen 11/07/2008 @ 7:26 AM

We’re here at south fork ranch in parker, tx where they filmed exterior shots for the show, dallas. Maybe jr is here, getting shot.
There are a few thousand walkers here and we are ready to rock!
Opening ceremony will start soon. This is where we warm up, get ready, and think of the reason for our journey.
Ok, fingers are cold and the ceremony is starting!

From Karen 11/07/2008 @8:09 AM

Opening ceremony is done and everyone is crying - it’s going to be a beautiful day. Time to go - it’s time to walk!

From Karen 11/07/2008 @8:11 AM

Holy crap! As we are walking out they are playing the theme song from Dallas! AWESOME

Karen has been sending some periodic updates on the 3 Day, so I’ll post them when I get them.

Sent 11/6/2008 @ 9:32 PM

Hi everyone,
To make things easier for me and my swollen fingers on the 3-Day tomorrow, I am going to do all updates by replying to this email. I’ll be awake at 3:30 am tomorrow in time to arrive at the opening ceremony site, and will make the first update when the mood strikes me.

Good night everyone - wish us luck. Thanks again so much for supporting us.