Global walk brings woman through Marion County
Polly Letofsky, 42, of Colorado visited Marion County during the past week on the final leg of a five-year walk around the world to raise awareness of breast cancer.
"All right, who's the wise guy who said Kansas was flat?" she wrote April 2 in her journal after arriving in Kansas. "Where is all the flatness?"
Letofsky was in Florence on Thursday before continuing on to Marion that evening. She left for Hillsboro Sunday morning and spent two days there.
"I've been adoring Kansas," she said. "It's been a ball. I love the small towns, and people are friendly and helpful."
She was excited about exploring the "Wild West." She met her first cowboy at Cottonwood Falls, and was pleased to see a cowboy wearing spurs in Marion.
She took several self-timed photographs of herself in Florence, where the Holiday Motel donated a room for her stay.
In Marion, she stayed gratis at Country Inn and attended the KVC bike rally Saturday in Central Park.
She spoke Monday at an anniversary celebration in Hillsboro.
Letofsky's journey began Aug. 1, 1999, at Vail, Colo. She plans to arrive back in Vail July 30. Her journey took her from Colorado through Arizona and California, then to New Zealand, Australia, Asia, and Europe.
After arriving in New York City a year ago, she visited New Jersey, Pennsylvania, upstate New York, Ontario, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and now Kansas.
She traveled through all kinds of weather including flood, lightning, extreme heat and cold, hail, snow, an earthquake, and forest fires.
Her constant companion is a custom-made three-wheel bike trailer with the name of Bob. She said dogs have been her biggest threat in her walk around the world.
She averages 15-20 miles per day and gets new shoes every six weeks. To maintain optimum health, she eats carefully and takes vitamins and other nutritional supplements.
Everywhere she goes, Letofsky advocates women's health and promotes awareness of the risk of breast cancer.
"About 80 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no known risk factors," she said.
She encourages women to be their own advocates and to demand testing of any lumps or abnormalities discovered in their breasts.
She also raises funds for breast cancer research.
"Walking as a mode of travel is the world's best university," she said. The continuous change of scenery and cultures eliminated any chance for boredom.
"Turkey was my favorite foreign country, but there's no place better than the good ol' USA," she concluded.
To learn more about Letofsky's walk around the world, visit her website at www.globalwalk.org.
