Mother Nature did her best to disrupt the 2025 San Diego 3-Day Walk for the Cure. But even a Level Three Atmospheric River could not burst the Pink Bubble. Soaked us. But did not deter us.

The Pink Bubble is what we call the community of walkers, crew, and staff who participate in the 3-Day Walk for the Cure. The short video below gives you a quick idea of how the 2025 3-Day Walk evolved for walkers, crew, and supporters.

2025 SD 3-Day by cathy

Old Lady Walking

To think I worried about simply walking 60 miles in 3 days. It has been a challenging year for me in terms of getting my daily walks in. I don’t think of it as training but rather my daily life. What works for this Old Lady Walking is consistently walking five miles or more daily. When I manage that, I find the 3-Day Walk goes well.

So I was concerned that I had been unable to walk consistently – for a number of reasons. But Mother Nature decided to throw a major “counter irritant” (one of my dad’s favorite southernisms), bringing even more life lessons to my two-plus decades of walking sixty miles in three days.

Pink Bubble Lesson #1 – We are capable of so much more than we think.

This was not a new lesson but one that continues to surprise me with added proof. When you are getting pounded by rain and shoved around by wind that blew up to 45 mph, you move the bar on limits.

I released my mini-memoir, Perfectly Imperfect: How Walking 60 Miles in 3 Days Shed Plenty of Biases, about the 3-Day Walk a month before the Walk. Little did I know that my twenty-second Walk would create plenty of material for a sequel. 🙂

Curtis, a special person I met at the 2024 San Diego event asked me what I took from this latest Walk. Typically, I have to process that kind of feeling but what immediately impressed me was I heard no one complaining when Mother Nature assaulted us. In fact, the overwhelming response was humor.

• Walkers laughed at ourselves trying to step over “puddles” – we all had multiple foot plunges on flooded streets.
• With each strong rush of wind, a young man behind me would scream, “Yahoo!”
• Despite the weather, the wonderfully supportive San Diego community and 3-Day crew were out there cheering us on.

And as seen in the above video, Day Three ended with a gorgeous rainbow stretching from Camp and spilling into the ocean. The same thing happened in what I called the Year of the Monsoon in 2010. How can you not believe in the power of why we walk sixty miles in three days?

Pink Bubble Lesson #2 – Human connections are a step above.

I have met people online I consider friends; some of those I would call good friends. From my writer buddies to the Facebook groups for the San Diego 3-Day, there are more than a few I hope to meet in person. With my twenty-second Walk, I did just that. No AI companion for me.

New Connections

• Lisa who is from Idaho chased me down when she recognized my pink cape. It’s always amusing to me that I have to travel to San Diego to meet someone from my own area. 🙂
• First-time walker from San Diego who chatted with me until we got separated at Pit Stop #4 when the gale-force winds took off and event staff closed the route for safety. My boomer brain is forgetting your name. If you see this, reach out. I so appreciated the connection.
• And a special thanks to Tracey who joined teammate, Penny, and I at the rented house. I am so thankful to meet you in person and get to know more about you as an awesome 27-time (!) walker.

And this annual event is also a great time for me to reconnect with friends I have known a long time.

UPDATE: The first-time walker from San Diego reached out. Her name is Amanda. Yay! Thanks for reconnecting, Amanda. See you in 2026!

Long-time Connections

I have several long-time connections who I only see once a year when I return to San Diego for the 3-Day Walk. This year was no exception. Reconnecting with them is a very special part of my trip.

I have known Linda and Judi (shown here) for nearly fifty years. You know you’re old when you were going to claim you met as infants but that still makes you old. 😀

And I was able to hook up my longtime friend, Marina, with Judi (Linda and Marina had already met). Just call me the connection adapter.

And Benny (shown in the video) and I met when we crewed together at the 2004 San Diego 3-Day Walk. My annual Benny hug is a must-have memory I cherish. Chase and his mom, Alisen, I met for the first time 14 years ago when his mom was pregnant with Chase. Alisen was volunteering at the Walk.

Chase became known as “Booby Boy” because of his headgear and we have all watched him grow up through the years. 🙂

Pink Bubble Lesson #3 – Kindness is the key to happiness.

Lord knows the last few years have been tough. It’s hard to be positive, kind, and caring when you feel like a punching bag pommeled by life. The kindness of others is one of the greatest gifts I receive from walking in the 3-Day. The 2025 Walk seemed even more special.

Penny

Since the pandemic, our Pink Tahoe Ladies team has dwindled from a total of 16 walkers to just Penny and me. In January of 2025, Penny broke her ankle paddleboarding in Hawaii. She underwent surgery to repair her poor limb. Her rehab took longer than Penny would like but we already resigned ourselves to Penny sitting this year out.

Perhaps the injury gods wanted to display their power upon hearing Penny was considering walking one or two days of the 3-Day Walk. A few weeks before the Walk, Penny fell off a ladder and broke a previously broken and surgically-repaired wrist.

Injury gods – 2 Penny – 0

Just weeks after her surgery, Penny still drove down from her home to support me in another 3-Day. She is that really special friend.

Beth

Beth is one of our Pink Tahoe Ladies teammates. She walked her first walk with us in 2010 (the year of the monsoon) through 2016. I have not seen Beth in person for years. So, I was thrilled when she called asking if she could come by the house between work commitments she had. It was like time had never passed. That’s what true friendship is like.

Curtis & Jeff

Curtis is the creator of the beautiful Kintsugi-style pottery that he gifted Penny and me when we met Curtis and his friend, Jeff, at the 2024 San Diego 3-Day Walk. His pottery was the inspiration behind my book’s cover design that my graphic artist brilliantly created.

Curtis texted me to ask if he and Jeff could come by the house so I could sign copies of my book he purchased for friends and family. As a newly-published author, I was humbled by the request. My friend, Judi, had also asked me to sign her copy. I could get used to this. 😉

The kind acts filled me with happiness.

• Penny driving down to support me even with all the obstacles she faced is why I love her so much.
• Beth making time for me between scheduled events made me feel valued.
• Curtis and Jeff reconnecting and honoring my written words was heartwarming.

The Pink Bubble is full of kindness. It is but one reason why I cannot walk away. Walk on.

P.S. Despite the shortened route, I did manage to get in 59.3 miles over the 3 days by walking in the morning and evening whenever I could find a clearing in the weather. Not that I’m competitive or anything. What can I say, I am Perfectly Imperfect. 🙂