During a bad day at work, many of us have fantasized about quitting to travel the world, hike the Appalachian Trail, or live in an Airstream in the woods. When Malinda Walker, a San Francisco-based runner, joked with her coworker, Lamorna Brown Swigart, about walking across the country, little did she know she would set the wheels in motion for a seven-day, 280-mile journey around the Bay Area—riding ElliptiGOs.
What started as a fantasy became a real project called We Go for Good. Walker and Brown Swigart “ElliptiGO’d” through cities surrounding San Francisco to raise awareness and funds for their employer, the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center's Breast Oncololgy Program at the University of California San Francisco. “I started working at UCSF in 1995,” Walker said in her kickoff speech. “In that year, a friend of mine from high school and college died of breast cancer. She had two small children. Many young women continue to suffer from this disease. But with the proper investment, we can continue to make advances. That’s why Lamorna and I are going to go for good.”
“I knew the ElliptiGO would be a great way to draw attention to our cause,” says Walker, who knew of the machine as the cross-training method of choice for elites, such as Meb Keflezighi, as well its other benefits.
“And I had no idea what an ElliptiGO was!” adds Brown Swigart, a mother of two. “I’ve never been an athlete in any sense, so contemplating this a year ago—essentially completing seven marathons back to back—I thought, ‘How could I possibly do that?’ But now, I’m certainly in much better shape than I used to be.”
Inspired by Tri-Valley SOCKs, a Pleasanton, California-based not-for-profit that raises money for breast cancer research, most colorfully through a “Bras for a Cause” walk, Walker and Brown Swigart created a route that started and finished at UCSF. Along the way, the team traveled through Silicon Valley hotspots Redwood City and Mountain View; through small towns Danville and Martinez; and through Napa, Sonoma, and Petaluma wine country.
The duo stopped at libraries, churches, businesses, and bike shops to spread the word about their cause, the ElliptiGO, and the benefits of exercise. Cyclists joined them for random stretches along the route. “The SOCKs put on a party for us in Pleasanton when we arrived,” says Brown Swigart. “And members of Malinda’s running club, Pamakid Runners, ran beside us for 15 miles in the heat on a Sunday morning. That was pretty impressive.”
The Fremont Public Library also laid out the welcome mat. “When we arrived, there were people cheering and clapping and the mayor came out to greet us,” says Walker. “It really made us feel like we were doing something great.”
Probably because they are. To date, We Go for Good has raised nearly $17,000 toward a revised $20,000 goal. (Walker and Brown Swigart planned to raise $100,000 before reality hit.) They intend to continue their fundraising efforts riding ElliptiGOs. Although they haven’t nailed down a destination or a date yet, Walker says, “There is definitely more 'going for good' in our future.”
