Sponsored by the March of Dimes – a group that provides support for the families of infants who need to be in an NICU in the hospital – this was an opportunity to put your foot where your mouth was. It was a pretty basic set up. You’d start by getting all of the paperwork from a March of Dimes representative – my Mom was a rep which made it easy for us to get everything we needed. The
Sponsor Form was a sign-up sheet for people to sign up and sponsor you a certain amount per mile. So – you’d make the rounds and get all your neighbors and relatives to sponsor you. Your Mom and Dad may even take your form to work where they might try to coerce their office mates to sponsor you, too. It was held in the summer. So you didn’t have the chance to take it to school – which was good if you were too scared to ask your friends or teachers.
The Walk-A-Lot was a 20 mile route that started and ended at the Seattle Center. There were a bunch of tables set up by the flag pavilion and you checked in there and started walking the route. There were check points every few miles where you got your sheet stamped to verify your progress. For you Seattleites, the route went from the Center over to Eastlake, under the freeway and then north on 15th NE as far as 130th. We then headed west across the freeway, over Aurora, down Greenwood and ended up on 15th NW, shot along Elliott Avenue and up Denny Way to the Seattle Center.
It was a lot of fun. It was an opportunity to do something good and participate in something much bigger than ourselves. We always kidded about how hard it was when we started, but by the end, we were pretty wiped out. We did it for quite a few years, and every time we were glad that we had done it, and it was for a worthy cause.
47 comments:
SO many bloggers have participated in this walk for March of Dimes. I think it's wonderful. I don't walk usually, but I donate.
FourthGradeNothing.com
I donate to my SIL who walks. My niece was born premature and was helped by their great organization!
Ally and GND: My brother had some physical birth defects, so I believe that's how my mom got involved. God bless you both for your donations!
I don't know about you, but I've never felt bad after donating to a worthy cause... it's a legal, ethical and awesome natural high feeling!
My dad and I walked it, I remember that he was wearing combat boots from his Army days. I searched for this because I wanted to confirm it had been 20 miles. Dad handled the distance better than I did.
In the 70's, I walked 18 miles in our walkathon for the March of Dimes. I am a congenital amputee, left leg. It took me all day to walk it. I hopped some when my leg was bleeding. The National Guard ended up walking with me. I finished the 18 miles, bloody and tired, but I did it.
WOW......Just heard a commercial on the radio for March of Dimes an it made me want to Google 'the 20 mile walk'. Pretty sure my family didn't believe me when I said I walked it for several years. It was so many years ago, I started to wonder if it actually was 20 MILES. It was long, but a lot of fun, and you felt really great at the end, knowing you were helping innocent, little babies. Thanks for the memory. ~~~Linda
Linda - It WAS a long walk, but it was a LOT of fun, and you DID feel good about yourself for helping others. I don't know that kids these days are as involved or committed to causes as we were... of course we had a lot less distractions in our lives than they did on a daily basis.
Same thing. People tell me no way did I ever do a 20 mile MOD walk. Mine was in Fayetteville, NC. VERY fun town when I was an Army brat. Still a wonderful cause.
Agreed. I did the March of Dimes Walkathon in the early 80'stages in San Jose CA. For us it was 30 kilometers 18ish miles. I would get neighbors to pledge 10cents per kilometer and I clearly recall collecting $3.00 from them after the race. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I was in 6th grade and I remember as a kid making it much harder than it needed to be because we would horse around running all over the place during the walk. The first year, I remember wanting to give up even with the end in site and my friends encouraging me to finish, which thankfully I did.
I remember the next day I was so sore I needed to use crutches to walk. My wife is crazy if she thinks that would happen after a 3 or 6 mile walk.
I certainly remember doing the exact same thing. My cousin, brother and I would spend the first couple miles running ahead, running back, chasing each other around... only to get really tired and (depending on the Seattle weather that year) hot, sweaty and thirsty. Without fail, we would end up spending the last half - and especially the last couple of miles - complaining, crying, etc.
And -yes - we would be very sore the next day. But it was for a good cause and I'm really glad that we did it.
Yes!!!! 20 Mile walk in Michigan suburb of Detroit (Stoney Creek)
We did it every year! So...today's youth walking 3k? lol
Good memories, great cause!
I didn't know that they're only doing 3K now - sorry - but I think that they're pretty wimpy, if you ask me. I think we gained a lot of character having to tough it out for 20 miles! You can check out my book about growing up in the '70s - it's called "My '70s Book" and remembers all the fun and awesome things we did growing up.
Just did a six mile walk today in Gainesville Florida, but I also did the 20 mile walk in Miami Florida from the Orange Bowl and back. I remember the sheets to for 10 cent a mile as a mimimum asking donation.
I walked it 3 years in a row back in the early 70's. It was fun, we didnt have cell phones, we walked and talked to each other!
I honestly don't know if kids today would be able to spend a whole day walking and talking together... SO glad I grew up before technology did such a number on our abilities to think, talk and actually carry on an intelligent conversation! Thanks for the post!
What a great post! I did this too as a kid in the late 70s or early 80s. I still remember because halfway through I had blisters and by the end they were all bleeding and I was limping but I did the WHOLE 20 Miles!!! I think it's quite an accomplishment for anyone, especially a kid!!
Good job, Lisa! It WAS an accomplishment and gave us a good time, good memories, and was for a good cause! Let's make sure that we do everything we can to give our kids these same types of character building opportunities. Thanks for the post!
Oh yeah, I walked all the 20 mile walks in Charlotte NC. I was a teen and in stoppable. My friends and I raised a lot back then. Loved them days and now the walks you hear of are only 3 to 4 miles long "wimpy". The good days where did they go.
My wife and I did the MOD 20 mile walk-a-thon in Savannah, GA in the early eightise. We walked (I rolled being in wheelchair) with the bank I worked for, and we made it the entire 20 miles. Did this two years in a row. Was so much fun, but we ached so many days afterwards, and it was well worth it!
Unknown -
How incredible! All of us who could walk it felt it was such an effort, but your story certainly puts that in perspective! Thank you for your willingness to participate despite your inability to walk (kind of ironic, in a very poignant way). It must have touched a lot of people's hearts to see you helping others in that way.
I also remember being sore and aching for many days afterwards - but as they say - it was a GOOD aching!
I remember walking in colorado springs in my early teens. Id love to do it again . I would in a minute!
It would be fun - I'd do it again, too!
Although - I can see that it would be a lot different now. How could you encourage everyone to walk for 20 miles and not spend the whole time looking at their phones? So much of the joy of the game was meeting and talking with new people along the way.
Also - I think that everyone would have to sign a waiver so that they couldn't sue when they fall down because they aren't watching where they're going (on their phones).
Honestly - I don't know if many of the kids today could even do it.
Oh my gosh the blisters on my feet the next day- perhaps even before it was over- but so worth it. Those were the days a dollar sponsor would be shocked.
I did collect good donations.
Only the ones that do cardio faithfully at the gym.
Yup - definitely worth it! And we collected good donations from very generous people, too! Thanks for sharing!
I remember in 1976 in Pittsburgh we walked 26 miles
It was a blast
Yes, I was a kid or young teen when I used to do the NYC March of Dimes walk-a-thon in the early/mid 1970s and it was definitely 20 miles! Somehow the weather was always perfect though, or at least that's what I remember - I have no idea how MOD pulled that off.
It was a pretty incredible organization - and it used the power of mothers. My brother had some birth defects, and mom was involved because of that. My whole family was able to help others as a result... and I know my mom enjoyed helping others.
I was just thinking about this...I did Walk back in Salem Oregon around 1976, I was probably all of 15-16 and I believe it was .1 (penny) a mile?? I continue, walking for Causes, 3Day/60Miles for Breast Cancer, which when I started was promoted by AVON and now, Susan G. Komen Fund, Relay for Life (American Cancer Society) and many other Walks - Bubble Run, Color Walks, etc in Montana and now Washington State. Thank you for this Post site, it was nice to see others remembered and I read a comment above which I agree with kids today most likely won't walk due to all of today's technologies.
Hi, Cheri -
Thank you so much for your comment. I know that our parents always said this, but kids these days just don't know how easy they have it. And - while I don't like to serotype, I do feel that the common mindset these days is "entitled". I feel that - GENERALLY - successive generations have gotten less giving and more taking; less others-focused and more self-focused. Our media and entertainment industries have only served to reinforced this and, sadly, I don't think that things will change anytime soon. I am so glad to have grown up when I did (born in '59) and have had the values and morals instilled in me such that I work for what I have and really appreciate things rather than take them for granted.
...ok - I'll get off my soapbox now... The Walk-a-Lot was a blast! Fortunately, we usually had good weather (although it was Seattle - so it was often a coin flip). We had so much fun...always had so much energy at the beginning and were dragging by the end. But we knew we were doing something good and helping others. Kuddos to you for doing the same, and for continuing to do charitable walks now.
I too did that walk. Just walked 6 miles at Disney and told my husband I once walked 20 miles in high school. I actually had to look it up because
I didn't believe it. My friends had to drag me the last 2 miles back to the Orange Bowl
I was just thinking about this and searched to see if I was remembering correctly. I was! I walked 20 miles in NY in the mid 70’s, and I did it for three or four years. No special shoes, no preparation, no supplies. Just my sneakers that I wore every day and whatever snacks they gave us along the way. No water bottle, no protein bars, nothing. I imagine that if people undertook a 20 mile walk today they’d be decked out in exercise gear, expensive sneakers, and carrying water and food. Not in the 70’s!
Wow! That is so true! And, of course, there would be water stations all along the way... and if the weather was really warm, there'd probably be misting stations... and... well - you get the idea. It's amazing how much we all did and/or didn't do back then and survived! :)
I remember doing the walk-a-lot in Seattle in the very early 70's. 20 mile walk. Had a blast for a good cause.
Hey Jody -
It was a lot of fun, wan't it? And you felt like you were really helping and contributng to a worth cause. Who knows, we may have walked right next to each other back in the day!
I'm trying to convince my kids we walked 25 miles on my first walkathon in York, PA, 1974. Like someone mentioned before; no special training, shoes, equipment or water bottles. I remember there were stops every so far for water and snacks & there was a bagged lunch. My husband & I call it our first date. We didn't start out as a couple but by the end we were one. I still remember the route & one day I'll drive it with one of them just to prove the point. We walked in them for several years after that. Back then my friends & I walked all the time, both for charities & also for something to do. It wasn't unusual for us to spend most of the day walking around town (several times) on trails or somewhere for ice cream or other food! No wonder I weighed 90 lbs.
Hey, Linda -
Yup - we did it wearing our tenny-runners, our swabbys and t-shirts with transfer decals ironed on of our favorite bands/cars/'70s sayings! I know that the walk-a-lots we did in Seattle were only 20 miles. Sounds like you guys were better walkers than us! :)
SO COOL that you met your husband-to-be there! Yeah - make sure to drive your kids the route, and then you should challenge them to walk it!!! (Even offer them some ice cream if they do it. :) ) And you're right... we all walked a lot back then, and not just in walk-a-lots!
18 miles and the National Guard walked with me. They were concerned about my artificial leg but in reality, I think it was my whole good leg that suffered the most. It took me literally all day with lots of blisters and Bandaids,couldn't wear my leg for a week but raising money and giving back made it all worthwhile. I will treasure that experience forever.
Kim -
God bless you - your sharing is VERY inspirational! All of us can complain and/or brag about walking in the walk-a-lots, but you obviously gave of yourself in a much bigger way than any of us. Thank you for your willingness to do this, and for the real sacrifice you made!
My sisters and I did a 30km/18 or 19 mile walk around 1980 in Monterey/Pacific Grove CA - We were about 6th grade age. So beautiful, along the coast on places like 17 mile drive, the famous monarch butterfly spots, Lovers Point with the sea otters etc. It was an incredibly memorable experience, we were very happy to participate and raise money! For the rest of our time in CA we drove our parents crazy with "we walked here on the walkathon!" all the time.
Hi, Lynn
It's funny that I always thought that the distance was 20 miles... and am just now realizing that the actual distance apparently varied depending on the location!
How awesome that we all have such great memories of when we participated in these. It's nice that you were able to remind your parents of your accomplishment whenever you were driving around where you had walked! It probably started to drive them crazy, but in reality, it was probably a "I'm proud of my kid's") crazy!
I remember walking the 20 miles with my best friend in Columbus Ohio. Great memories . I don't remember it being hard i just remember meeting people and having fun.
Yup! And we did the whole thing - spent all that time - not having to update all our friends who weren't there on what we/they were doing; catching up on the latest dance; finding out what celebrities were doing that day; 'getting in' on the latest internet meme... SUCH better times! And - as you said - "meeting people and having fun"!
50 or 51 years ago I participated in a MOD 20 mile walk-a-thon. It was in Butler, Missouri and we had a 10 mile course that we did twice. The first time around, I and my friends walked. The second time we ran until we were tired, then walked, repeating this pattern to the finish. My left leg, in particular, was so tired I had to use my hands to place it inside the car with the rest of me to drive home.
Wow... that's awesome! It seems like it would be hard to finish to course and realize you're only half-way done... you guys were real troopers! I'm sure that your left leg fully recovered, but what a great story you had to tell!
It did vary. Early 70's in Titusville, FL it was 21 miles.
So - you got more of a workout than I did! :)
It would be interesting to learn why they varied the distances. I'm sure that some of it was due to travel routes, but I think I've seen folks share that the distances were as short as 10 miles, and as long as 25 miles. Anyway - they all worked to raise money for a great cause, and we're all proud to have been a part of that!
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