Wednesday, April 16, 2003

Courier News 
Central  New Jersey

Woman's global walk 
takes her through N.J.
By Chris Donahue

Green Brook- Polly Letofsky has taken roads less traveled to raise money and awareness to fight breast cancer.  This week, the worldwide journey brought her to Somerset County.

Letofsky is on a five-year global walk that began in 1999 in Vail, Colo., and has taken her to New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Europe.

On April 6, Letofsky flew from Ireland to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport.  After spending about a week in the city, which included an appearance on the CBS Early Show, Letofsky set out again, since then spending several nights in Green Brook at the home of Bonnie Shrager.

Strager, a 61-year-old library assistant at the Warren public library, has known Letofsky for about seven years.  The two met in Vail when Shrager went there to ski and visit her son, Jeff, who was renting a room from Letofsky.

"She walked everywhere," Shrager said with a laugh.  "When we went skiing, she walked up the mountain, then she skied down the mountain."

Letofsky, 41, walked from Green Brook to Somerville on Tuesday and will eventually travel to Philadelphia, Niagara Falls, Detroit, Chicago, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

As of Monday, she had walked 10,442 miles and raised about $100,000.  Letofsky hopes to finish her journey in the summer of 2004 in Vail.

"I wanted to walk around the world when I saw this story about a man who walked around the world when I was 12," she said.  "I think it's that age where you discover there's a whole big world around you.

"And I was absolutely intrigued, and still am, that you can just put one step in front of the other, and that will carry you from country to country--cultures, climates, traditions, ideas.  It's still a fascinating thought."

she said she's never been homesick, but is happy to show some patriotism once again after politely declining to discuss issues such as the war in Iraq, especially while in Europe.

"I think I prepared myself for the prospect of being lonely, and it never happened," she said.  "And often it was quite the opposite.  I was pushing people away because a lot of times people were overprotective."

Letofsky said she averages about 16 miles  a day.  One day in India, she walked 26 miles.  

She's on her 23rd pair of sneakers by New Balance, one of her sponsors.

Lions Clubs have helped raise money and keep Letofsky company during parts of her walk, as well as provide logistical support all over the world, Letofsky said.

Money raised in other countries goes to local hospitals, while money raised in the U.S. goes to The Breast Cancer Fund, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization dedicated to research, education, support and advocacy, she said.  Since she was 12, Letofsky knew and heard about women with breast cancer, and thought it seemed like a good cause to combine with a global walk.

Letofsky said she plans to settle down when her journey ends, but has never regretted beginning it.

"There have been frustrating times," she said.  "I remember sitting in India, it was just the worst.  I"m thinking, 'How am I going to get through this?' Not, 'How am I going to get out of here and go home?'

"I've  always been an endurance athlete, I guess.  So I have that going for me.  I'm not rich or good-looking or any of the rest of it, but I'll tell you I've got endurance and willpower," she added.

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