Cancer walk draws a caring crowd

Four thousand women and men began a 60-mile pilgrimage yesterday to kick off this year's annual San Diego Breast Cancer 3-Day walk.
Bystanders cheered as swarms of walkers, some clad in outfits featuring pink feather boas and rhinestone bras, made their way from the Del Mar Fairgrounds to Kellogg Park in La Jolla, where they stopped for lunch. Team names – such as the Heart and Sole Sisters and The Hakuna Ma-Ta-Tas – were spotted on shirts and signs.
“Good job, ladies!” shouted Joni Birse of Ramona as a group in pink tutus, tiaras and hula skirts strutted down the boardwalk, ready to eat after 11 miles of hoofing.
San Diego native Maria Sevier, who now lives Tacoma, Wash., said the experience has been inspiring.
“It's phenomenal,” Sevier said as she stretched on the grass. “I walk because I have a cousin who has been battling breast cancer for seven years.” Nearby, Elizabeth Ferry, 18, and Kathy Garat, 43, both from El Cajon, fueled up on chicken sandwiches and apples.
“We've got another nine miles to go today,” Garat said. “We're feeling good. No blisters yet.”
Maury O'Connor, 20, and Megan Fennell, 21, flew in from New Jersey to support a family friend with breast cancer. Catherine Wagner and Dotte Collins, both from Dallas, wanted a change of scenery.
“This our third 3-Day,” said Wagner, 27. “We did the first two in Texas. This route is so much prettier than the one from Fort Worth to Dallas.”
Jessi Grant, 65, journeyed from South Dakota to cheer on her daughter, a cancer survivor.
“Both my daughters had breast cancer,” Grant said. “One died at 29. It's hard to face losing the only other one I have.”
Of all 14 walks around the country, San Diego's is the biggest in terms of participation and money raised, officials said. Each walker commits to raising at least $2,200. Proceeds support breast cancer research, education, outreach and treatment.