Day One -- Carrrying the Flag

Annie was asked to carry one of eight lifetime flags. She chose "Victories."

There are 3,300 walkers, who gathered at 6:30 am for opening ceremonies.

The lifetime flags were carried onto the stage. Rather than observe a moment of silence, walkers were asked to speak the name of the person s/he was walking for. It took Annie longer than most, since she is walking for 15 people.

The flags are brought down and out onto the entrance to the walk.

And they are off!

A note from our son, James H. S. Searle:

Today Annie heads out to begin her three days of walking. I am currently traveling to Stockholm to give a talk. I wanted to post a message again this year on her blog to thank her for continuing on this year. The commitment is serious, as her blog indicates, and anyone who knows my mother knows she is a busy woman, who throws her whole self at the work in front of her. It is so unfortunate that the number of names on her hat increases constantly but I think she has the right attitude-in a tough situation you can either get bitter or get after it. She has of course gotten after it and in doing so has literally taken the hard road.

I would also like to thank all of those who have gotten behind the effort to fight this horrible disease. It is a shame that I will not be there to see the all of the bodies spread out over the road because it is quite a sight. Most importantly, I would like to say that I am tremendously proud of my mother for sticking to her guns.