100 miles seems like a lot but that is just a small feat compared to overcoming breast cancer. On Wednesday, Sept. 30, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee pledged to complete 100 miles for a student athlete who was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer.
“Alexis Howerin, a senior on the field hockey team at Wesley College was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer in early 2020 after finding a lump from self-examination,” the Atlantic East Conference website said. The Wesley college field hockey Facebook page has been posting a series of videos on Howerin’s journey. The Facebook page has also been featuring other schools that are participating in the 100-mile challenge.
The Cabrini swim team as a whole pledged to swim 100 miles in support of Howerin and breast cancer awareness. Swimming roughly 70 laps in a pool is equivalent to a mile. So if the Cabrini swim team wants to swim 100 miles collectively they have to swim approximately 7,000 laps. “While it is a hard goal to obtain swimming, it is something I am having fun doing and I know it is something that is a good cause while also making me a better swimmer,” Kelly Schuehler, a senior human resource management major, said.
“Completing 100 miles in one month is really hard to do when swimming. On average we swim a little more than two miles in each practice,” Schuehler said. Due to COVID-19 the swim team is holding fewer practices a week so that is a concern for Schuehler. “We are working hard to get there and hopefully hit that goal,” Schuehler said.
“The swim team was introduced to the idea through a team member,” Christopher Bianco, a freshman criminology major, said. “He decided that that was a great way to support breast cancer awareness.”
“We decided to participate in the challenge because we wanted to show our support for Alexis Howerin and raise awareness for breast cancer all while swimming for a good cause,” Schuehler said.
The swim team has been posting their weekly progress involving the challenge on their Instagram. So far the team is in their third week of the challenge and they have a total of 24 miles collectively. “We record the laps by our coach counting the yardage at the end of the week and converting it into miles,” Schuehler said. There are two separate practice groups therefore when the posts go up on the teams Instagram there are two separate numbers equalling each practice groups total.
“The purpose of the 100-mile challenge is ultimately to raise awareness to the importance of self-examination,” the Atlantic East Conference website said. “It was an important step in Lex saving her own life.”
“To me, breast cancer awareness is a sign of hope and need,” Bianco said. He believes that there needs to be more attention on funding and finding a cure for the disease.
“Breast cancer awareness means a lot to me because it affects many women,” Schuehler said. “Every woman needs to be aware of it and constantly keep up in checking for cancer.”
