SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - It was a triumphant finish Sunday for 2,300 walkers who completed the Susan G. Komen San Diego 3-Day.
The 60-mile trek wrapped up as participants made their way from Crown Point Shores to Petco Park.
Day three of this year's Susan G. Komen walk left its mark in more ways than one as 2,300 people completed the final leg of the 60-mile trek.
"You good? I'm good...a few blisters, but I feel energized."
After beating breast cancer less than two years ago, Michelle Abramowitz decided to walk for the first time saying she's more hopeful than ever before.
"What gets me through is I'm alive. I'm cancer free. I have the physical and emotional strength to enjoy everyday and I plan to do that," she said.
Her daughter Shira is just as positive having watched her mom fight a disease that kills someone every 13 minutes.
"Definitely makes you reevaluate how everything is going in life and how lucky we are," she said.
Like Michelle and Shira, everyone in this crowd has a story. A reason, and a common goal.
"They need to find a cure...it's somewhere out there," said a walker.
That's what keeps our CBS News 8's Barbara-Lee Edwards coming back year after year. This is her tenth three-day walk.
"There are a lot of friends that you make along the way and when you see them the next year it's like a day hasn't gone by," Edwards said.
Meteorologist Matt Baylow is no stranger to the event either. He's now done it four years in a row.
"Nobody asks us to do it, we do it because we want to live in a world without cancer," Baylow said.
Along the way, walkers were treated to cheers and even a 7-year-old boy passing out lollipops.
"What do you hope happens to cancer? That it goes away and never come back."
A wish that could one day be a reality thanks in part to the $6.1 million raised this year in San Diego alone and the dedicated walkers who made it possible.
"We're here for the cause...do whatever it takes to raise money and get awareness out there."
Walkers were required to raise at least $2,300 to participate. Organizers say the walkers usually raise an average of $3,000.
The walk is the second major event for Susan G. Komen for the Cure this month in San Diego. About 14,000 people took part in the 17th annual Race for the Cure.