Light The Night 2011 Walk

Back in July I started raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night walk in Boston Common. The goal of the walk was to raise money for cancer and pay tribute to those battling cancer and commemorate those who have lost loved ones. I was lucky enough to be walking with a good friend, Alyson, who survived her battle with cancer and has been cancer free since December 2010.

Since July, I raised over $125 for the cause and became a Champion for a Cure. Our team as a whole raised over $2000 and we were awarded with a banner to carry during the walk. Each person on our team raised over $100 and were given a t-shirt memorializing the night, a bracelet allowing us access to a food tent and a balloon that varied in color depending on your status of a survivor (white), a supporter (red), or in memory of the loss of a loved one (gold).

When we arrived, the entire Boston Common was filled with tents, people and light filled balloons.

We checked in and got our bracelets. Then we headed over to get our t-shirts and balloons. We met up with the rest of the team and got ready to start the race.

I brought my dogs with me on the walk to give them some exercise and excitement for the night. And there certainly was excitement. There were so many people there and Finn was in heaven. Snickers just kind of went with the flow, but Finn was going in every direction. He’s a handful, that’s for sure!

The walk was 2 loops around Boston Common. Each loop was about 1.1 miles making the entire walk 2.2 miles. The first lap was very slow since there were so many people around. As we made our way around the Common it started to thin out and we had more room for the dogs and less pulling since there weren’t as many butts to sniff.

When we finished, we took pictures at the finish line and hung out and talked for a while

When we got back to the car, we decided to let our balloons go.

I felt very blessed to be a part of this walk, not only as a friend, but also as a supporter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. At one point during the race, Alyson mentioned that she was so happy to see so many red balloons. I was shocked, and thought she said it the wrong way. I said, “I’d rather see more white balloons. That means more survivors”. She said, “Oh, I know, but seeing so man red balloons means none of these people have cancer. That’s the good part here”. This woman amazes me every day and with simple comments like that, she shows how special she is. I’m lucky enough to call her my friend.

In case you’re interested in supporting a great person and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, we are still able to raise money until January 2012. My fundraising page is still up and you can still donate. Please, if you can, support this cause.