I went for a walk last weekend....

The MS Challenge Walk was held in the Philadelphia are the weekend of October 13 & 14. I was one of 350 walkers who raised almost $700,000 for multiple sclerosis. I signed up for the walk almost a year ago. I love to walk and decided that this would be a good way to up build up my distances and put my walking to good use. I raised $1945 and trained by walking in and around my neighborhood.










On day one, Saturday, October 13, we started at Winterthur Museum in Delaware. Dave dropped me off a little before 8 am. Everyone registered, dropped off our overnight and change of clothes bag (more on that later). The picture to the left is the terrace outside the visitors center. This is the start of the walk. Up that hill just past the tent is the way we headed out at about 9:00 a.m. To the roght is a scene on the grounds of Winterthur Museum where we walked the first 4 miles of the walk.

Lunch was at mile 6.7 at the A.I Dupont High school. As walkers arrived the were greeted by MS volunteers, crew and kids from the high school. Here is where the change of clothes bag came in. All the bags were loaded on a truck and brough to the lunch stop. There were put under this tent in number order. Each bag had a sticker matching the walker's number. This is an opportunity for walkers to changes, shoes, socks or whatever else they might want to. Most people at this point, however, shed clothes rather than change clothes. The temperature was in the 40's when we started out in the morning but quickly rose in the bright sunshine to the 60's. So long sleeve layers were shed in favor of something a bit more comfortable. The lunch stop had a vareity of foods to choose from including veggie burgers, chicken, soup, salads and snacks. And of coure plenty of water.

At mile 13 we encountered the last rest stop of the day before the end of the day one walk. It was surrouneded by this beautiful view. Three more miles mostly through the grounds of Hagley Museum.

To the left is proof that I was actually on the walk! On the right you see a picture of one of the walkers who has MS. This woman, and others living with MS walked the entire way. The disease has affected her legs so that she cannot lift them very far. Her husband devised a plastic piece that attached to the bottom of her shoe to allow her to drag her feet without catching the shoe on the pavement. She went through several pairs during the walk. How could anyone not finish the walk after witnessing that strength and determination.

Next we have the "You've got to be kidding me signs". A speed bump? Right about now we were entering mile 14. Nobody was speeding. On the right is the sign that met us at mile 14. And yes it really was a hill! On the hill we passed a brownie troop out on a history lesson. At the top of the hill we rounded a bend and could hear music. Must be near the end we decided. Sound can be deceiving though and it took several more turns before we arrived at the end of the walk for day one. At the end of the walk were greeted by even more cheering people. Along the way were envelopes for every walker containing love notes from freinds and family. Mine of course was from Dave. It made me laugh and feel really good! :)
This was the second hardest part of the day. Getting on the bus to go to the hotel where we would spend the night. The thing about long distance walking is that your legs get used to it and then you try to do something different, like lift them to walk up the steps and ...well try it sometime it's a very funny thing! The hardest part of the day was getting off the bus after a 15 minute ride and your legs start to tighten up a bit. BUT these aches and pains are minor and nothing a good night's sleep can't cure. People living with MS though aren't that lucky!

At the hotel there were massage therapists and foot doctors, a buffet dinner and finally a candlelight ceremony where we talked about why we walk, living with MS and enjoyed each other's company before heading to bed to get ready for day two!