Wow! Only a month until the MS Challenge Walk. I better start doing some training.

Crew training, that is. There's the official training session that the chapter just held, but I'm referring to the training that we all do on our own. Here's how I recommend my fellow crew members prepare for the big event:

1. Rest your vocal cords for the next month. Keep talking to an absolute minimum, because you are going to need all your cheering volume when the walk rolls around in September.
2. Toughen your hands by practicing clapping for extended periods of time. Otherwise, your hands will be stinging shortly after you start on the first day, and you will have no feeling in them by the end of the weekend.
3. Give up all pretenses of dignity as you prepare your outfits for the themed rest stops (when I think of some of the things I have worn).
4. Make sure you know what poison ivy looks like (I have sat in it twice now). The pink calamine lotion doesn't look good on anyone.
5. Make sure you practice your picture-taking skills and that you're on the right side of the camera when #3–4 happen.
6. Prepare to have a great weekend!

Jill lives in East Taunton with her husband and a very annoying cat. She was diagnosed with MS in 1998 when she was 24. She has been participating in the Challenge Walk since the beginning as a crew member and can also be found at many other fundraising events.