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Some of the participants in this year’s Breast Cancer 3-Day might have a lot of training to do to get ready for walking 60 miles in three days. As triathletes, though, Kati Wypyszynski and Barbie Midtlien have a head start.
The two Onalaska High School graduates plan to take part in the Breast Cancer 3-Day in Chicago August 8-10, one of 14 such events planned this year. They’ve set a goal of raising $2,500 each, and they’ve named their team the Hakuna Ma-Ta-Tas.
Wypyszynski is a fourth-year pharmacy student at the University of Minnesota and last year was president of the pharmacy student fraternity, Kappa Epsilon. The fraternity’s special mission is fighting and promoting awareness of breast cancer.
Through the fraternity she already has done quite a bit for the cause, including putting on three events last October: a pink cupcake and pink lemonade sale, a “jeans day” event and a “Save the Hooters” T-shirt sale. In all, the efforts raised about $1,500, a large portion of which was used to create breast cancer care packages.
“This year I got to actually hand them to the patients while the chemo was being administered,” Wypyszynski said. “It was an awesome experience.”
Midtlien is a sixth-grade special education teach in Watertown, Wis., which makes it harder for Midtlien and Wypyszynski to do training walks together. Midtlien has found other people to do longer walks with.
“I have had a blast getting to know such amazing people,” she said. “I have a couple ladies in Madison that I have walked with and one in Milwaukee — all have amazing stories and are truly an inspiration.”
Midtlien’s main inspiration for getting involved in the Breast Cancer 3-Day are a dear friend, Colleen Jacob, and her godfather, both of whom lost battles to cancer.
People who want to support Midtlien and Wypyszynski’s efforts to raise money to fight breast cancer can make donations online at
08.thethreeday.org/goto/kati or 08.thethree
day.org/goto/midtlien.
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