The Susan G. Komen Arizona 3-Day for the Cure is a special event for anyone who has been affected by breast cancer.
The 60-mile walk, spread out over three days, is a test of endurance for participants. Each walker must also raise at least $2,300 in order to participate.
One of the teams consisted of three Ahwatukee Foothills residents. Jean Hagen, her daughter, Chrissy Covington, and their friend and breast cancer survivor, Julie Croley, started the 60-mile trek on Friday, Nov. 12, and finished on Sunday.
Covington was the first of the three to do the walk five years ago. She said she wanted to do something meaningful to contribute to breast cancer awareness. That was right before she found out Croley was diagnosed.
"I was just about to do the walk the first year when we found out that she (had breast cancer)," Covington said. "That was the extra motivation to go out and do it."
Since then Croley has done the walk every year.
"The camaraderie between everybody is so incredible," she said. "There are people you have no idea who they are but you just feel that it's like a close-knit family."
Hagen is walking for her friend and for her mother, who passed away in April last year after a battle with cancer.
"My mom is walking with me," she said. "Cancer is so ugly and so vicious. When you do this walk, this is your piece. You can't cure it, you can't fix it, but maybe somebody else can."
In its sixth year, the Arizona 3-Day saw more than 1,500 walkers during this year's walk. Last year, the 3-Day for the Cure series, which involves 15 different cities across the United States, raised a total of $91 million. Since Susan G. Komen for the Cure began in 1982, the non-profit organization has invested $1.5 billion in breast cancer research and community programs.
