Researcher to participate in
Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day walk

A15K walk for charity is demanding but fun, and most people are up to the challenge. But a 60-mile, three-day walk is a big league event and requires a lot more in terms of training, preparation and determination.

FFor Alison De Paola, AG '99M and a researcher in the Department of Food and Resource Economics, the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day, to be held May 4-6, with a route from Frederick, Md., to Washington D.C., is for such an important cause that it is worth the effort and commitment.

Alison De Paola

One of her close friends, Alison McCallum, while still a teenager, lost her mother to breast cancer 10 years after she was first diagnosed. The disease seemed to be in remission but suddenly came back and claimed Jane McCallum's life. The two Alisons decided that they could do something to fight the disease by participating in the Avon 3-Day, which supports education, financial assistance and help for cancer victims and medical research.

"Basically," De Paola said, "I'm an action person, and this walk is a positive way to do something to help fight breast cancer, which is diagnosed in one out of nine women. My goal is to raise $1,900, or even more, for the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade."

De Paola spends much of her free time in training for the walk. "I have a frequent visitor pass at Longwood Gardens, and three times around the grounds equals about 9 miles. I am a training walk captain for the region, and Longwood donated 30 free tickets for training walks there for participants from Delaware and nearby Pennsylvania."

De Paola also credits Sheldon McBee of UD's Employee Fitness Center for tailoring exercises for her to develop her leg muscles. And she said her husband Mike has encouraged her every step of the way and joins her in training hikes.

Even before the walk, De Paola has encountered problems when an old knee injury flared up. "I have a brace I can use for the 3-Day if I have to, but I am determined to walk every step of the way. I just don't want to be one of those picked up by van at the end of the day," she said.

The logistics of the Avon 3-Day are daunting. There are nine held across the country, and at each event there are approximately 2,000 walkers. The walkers consume about 36,400 gallons of water and sports drinks and eat 8,200 pounds of chicken, 700 dozen bagels and 8,000 bananas. The walkers sleep in tents in Avon's "Mobile City."

Last year's march ended at the Washington Monument, where breast cancer survivors on the walk were given pink T-shirts and other walkers blue T-shirts. Those in blue shirts formed an aisle, and the survivors marched down the center to the cheers of their companions.

For more information about the march or to pledge, call De Paola at 831-6540, send e-mail to [adepaola@udel.edu] or visit the 3-Day web site at [http:// www.breastcancer3day.org/advc/eventfacts.htm]. Online donations for the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day may be made at the web site at [www.breast cancer3day.org] and choosing the option for "Make an online donation."

–Sue Moncure

Photo by KATHY FLICKINGER