Ashley Hanson, Jennifer Stinner, and Donna Solari are three women from Massachusetts who set a goal to walk from one end of their home state to the other. Why? They had a special purpose in mind, to raise money for the Greg Hill Foundation, a foundation that aims to improve the lives of families who have been struck by tragedy. I spoke to Ashley Hanson, the Director of Development for the Greg Hill Foundation, about this walk and how it came about...
"We came up with the idea to walk across Massachusetts on a whim", said Ashley Hanson.
Last year the women came up with the idea to do a 100 mile challenge in the month of May as sort of a friendly competition amongst themselves. It was a way to stay active and engaged during a time when the world was shut down and everyone isolated in their homes. The women would log their mileage and walk independently with Donna being the one to win the challenge having completed the goal of 100 miles. They enjoyed walking so much they set an even bigger goal that would benefit charity and thus started their journey to make this idea of walking across the state a reality!
"We didn't know what it would turn into and if we would pull it off", said Ashley Hanson.
They set the date for June of 2021 which gave them a year to plan things. Having a year leading up to the big walk really worked in their favor after they discovered all the planning that went into making this walk a success. The ladies had to not only train for the longest walk of their lives but being from the Greater Boston area, they had to familiarize themselves with areas they didn't know like the Berkshires and then map out their route accordingly. They discovered the Berkshires, which are an extension of the Appalachian Mountains, had some 1,000 foot elevation climbs. Ashley, Jennifer, and Donna would be going from climbing hills in their neighborhood to hills in the mountains and that would require some extra training!
Ashley told me they each had their own training plan leading up to June 2021. "Training was the most beneficial thing we did in turns of finding the right gear and helping us prepare." She went on to say special shoes and the right socks made a big difference. Ashley now swears by toe socks and trekking polls! You wouldn't know it but trekking polls help your hands and fingers not swell from the prolonged dangling of your hands down by your sides when you walk.
As the walk got closer, Donna Solari unfortunately suffered a stress fracture in her foot during her training and therefore was unable to participate in the physical walk across Massachusetts. However that did not stop her entirely from participating in the journey. While the two other women still planned to move ahead with the walk, Donna decided to travel alongside the women in a support vehicle all throughout their journey. This actually became very beneficial for Jennifer and Ashley as they no longer had to carry 30 pound backpacks with water, snacks, and gear that would make it more of a challenging walk for them. The support vehicle also provided for a safer environment for the women having access to a vehicle in the event of an emergency.
At the start of the walk, out in Western Mass. the women stayed at various hotels along their journey. As they got closer to the Greater Boston area they would then sleep at their own houses and start back up in the morning where they left off. Towards the end of the journey, which took them down the Cape, they again stayed at local hotels as they were once again further away from their home bases.
After a 27 day journey across the entire state of Massachusetts, Ashley, Jennifer, and Donna finished their mission having traveled 265 miles to raise money for charity! They raised roughly over $10,000 for the Greg Hill Foundation!
I want to personally congratulate Ashley Hanson, Jennifer Stinner, and Donna Solari on their amazing accomplishment of completely this big walk for charity. It wasn't an easy journey but you got it done and did something great with raising funds for a cause near and dear to you that gives so much back to those in need.
I asked Ashley if they have any future plans for more walks. She told me the women are planning to participate in the Virtual Boston Marathon this October by doing a combo walk/run up in Maine. If you want to contact She Walks MA (the group created by these 3 women) and find out more about their efforts, you can visit their website, HERE.
To find out more about the Greg Hill Foundation or to donate, you can visit their website, HERE.
Congrats again ladies on your amazing feat! Massachusetts is proud of you!
-Producer Lightning