The Woohoo! Report

By MARY KEARL

“The definition of walking around the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is that you have to walk at least 14,000 miles, and you need to start and finish in the same place and walk across at least four continents, and they say that when you get to the end of a continent you can fly,” Polly Letofsky explains in the film her brother P.J. made to document her journey around the world on foot — the first completed by a woman.

The numbers speak volumes about the lengths Letofsky went — 14,124 miles across 22 countries in North America, Australia, Asia and Europe. Walking at an average of 15 miles per day for 1,825 consecutive days, or five years, she fundraised more than $250,000 for 13 breast cancer organizations and burned through 29 pairs of shoes.

Born on March 1, 1962, Letofsky first heard of — and became fascinated with — a global walk at age 12, when she read about David Kunst’s 15,000-mile, four-year trek around the world. In the film “Polly’s Global Walk,” Letofsky’s mother, Rosemary Rawson, says that an eye problem initially delayed her daughter’s first steps, but once she got glasses, “it was like she perked up and looked around and said ‘Well, that’s what the world looks like’ and almost immediately she began walking.”

In her 30s, after having traveled the world in more conventional ways, the urge to walk around the world was still “burning” in the back of Letofksy’s brain. For two years she struggled to find sponsors, while working part-time at a hotel. One day, she says in the film, “In the middle of this stack of reservations I see this … piece of paper and on the top of it, it says, ‘Definition of commitment: When you find a way over every hurdle in your path and nothing but success is an option.’”

It took another year and a half before she secured enough sponsorships like New Balance Shoes and The North Face to provide products and services — never money — before she was ready to hit the ground walking. On August 1, 1999, at age 37, Letofsky started in Vail, Colo., and on July 30, 2004, after selling her condo to help cover the costs of the last leg of her trip, she returned, having accomplished her goal.

In an interview with AOL Health, Letofsky shared some of the hurdles and successes she encountered on her 14,000-mile-long path.

After the interview read the exclusive look inside Polly Letofsky’s yet-to-be-released book, where she gives highlights from her five-year journey on the road.

AOL Health: What was it about David Kunst’s walk that inspired you?

Polly Letofsky: It happened to coincide with the same time that I was discovering that the world expanded well beyond my back yard, and it intrigued me that someone could go discover the world using their feet as a mode of transportation.

AOL Health: What sort of preparations did you have to make for your walk?

Letofsky: I had always been athletic and in shape, so I was almost always ready physically. Emotionally, I prepared by camping alone, hiking through the mountains alone, reading first-aid books and reading books about people who had done similar projects and found out what being alone so much [would be like].

Additionally, I was 37 when I left, so one of the preparations I made was to make my life mobile. I sold 90 percent of my belongings, rented out my condo, quit my job, broke up with my boyfriend and I was ready to go!

AOL Health: Were you sad to leave all of this life behind, especially your boyfriend?

Letofsky: I say that sort of sarcastically, but when we got together he knew it would only last until August 1, 1999.

AOL Health: Do you feel you prepared enough?

Letofsky: Yes, [but] you can never fully prepare for a five-year journey. I was surprised at the amount of people who asked if I had all my accommodations booked. The very nature of a journey like this is that you have to be prepared to adlib, and you better be open enough to accept an opportunity that falls in your lap — because they will.

AOL Health: Why did you choose to combine your life-long dream of completing a global walk with fundraising and raising awareness about breast cancer?

Letofsky: I knew that if I were going to do this walk I needed to have a focus, and I wanted to make it worth much more than just a personal goal. At the same time, a number of women around me were being diagnosed with breast cancer.

AOL Health: How did breast cancer patients and survivors respond to your walk and your cause? Letofsky: They were always so supportive. I think sometimes they were relieved that I hadn’t had breast cancer so they didn’t need to live up to such a walk.

AOL Health: What were some of the successes and hurdles you encountered while trying to talk about breast cancer in countries that may have very different views about healthcare and very different views about women’s role in culture and society?

Letofsky: In many countries — particularly Muslim countries — women will never go to a doctor. Most doctors are men, and it’s socially unacceptable for men to look at a woman’s body. Therefore, women would never even complain about a health concern until it’s just too late.

One great success is that because the local [chapters of] Lions Clubs International got involved with my walk and my cause in every country — and they are predominantly men — they started talking about breast cancer. When the men started talking about it, it became okay for women to start talking about it, and they were urged to go to a doctor and get over the cultural shame.

AOL Health: You raised over $250,000 for breast cancer awareness. How did you decide where the money would go?

Letofsky: The $250,000 was in various currencies around the world and benefited 13 breast cancer organizations. It [went] toward education in each country. All funds raised stayed in the country of origin, and the money was the responsibility of the local organization I worked with.

AOL Health: How did you pick your route?

Letofsky: There just aren’t that many countries you can actually walk through! Once I started doing the homework, there was a natural route that most people biking or even driving around the world take because of the same reasons. China was a first choice but they only offered a three-month visa, and it would take me 16 to 18 months to walk across it. Russia too, wouldn’t give a visa that would last long enough. India would, so that’s the route I took in Asia.

AOL Health: You were on the road for five years — how did you maintain your health while raising awareness for others’ health?

Letofsky: I watched what I ate. I love eating new foods — one of my favorite parts of traveling — but because my health was so important I couldn’t always indulge in the mystery foods. I got food poisoning three times in the five years, in Australia, Germany and Missouri. Otherwise, I never got sick.

Surprisingly, living outside kept me very healthy. Must be the vitamin D.

AOL Health: Do you get your annual mammogram? Do you check yourself monthly?

Letofsky: Yes, I get my annual mammogram. Every January I take one full day and get all the medical checks for the year. I also do my monthly exams (probably more so) and have the card hanging in my shower to assist me.

AOL Health: Were you able to stay on top of this while on the road?

Letofsky: I was only 37 when I left, so while I had one before I left, I [also] had one when I was 38 (in New Zealand), then again in England three years later. That amount of mammograms is sufficient at that age.

AOL Health: How did you go to the bathroom, shower and generally take care of yourself?

Letofsky: I went to the bathroom behind bushes, showered in the hotels and homes I stayed in, and barely went three days without a shower. I was always good about sun protection.

AOL Health: How did you keep in touch with friends and family?

Letofsky: Predominantly through my Yahoo e-mail. Thank God for e-mail! I always called Mom and Dad about once a month and they always knew where I was.

AOL Health: Where were you able to check e-mail? Was that costly?

Letofsky: In New Zealand and Australia — the first two years of my walk — I stayed predominantly with families who had a computer, so it was free. Through poorer countries like Malaysia, Thailand, India, Turkey, there are Internet cafes everywhere, because generally people don’t have computers at home. Internet cafes were everywhere and probably cost around $1 an hour. In Europe it became very expensive and less available — because most people had computers at home, so there weren’t as many Internet cafes. It was more like $6 to $8 an hour, making it virtually impossible to keep in touch. Even libraries charged for Internet use.

AOL Health: How did you fight off being homesick while on the road?

Letofsky: I was only really homesick right after the events of 9/11. With such a disaster, you want to be home with your people. You become tribal. Other than that, I got on e-mail nearly every day. I hadn’t lived with my family for years, and had lived overseas, so it wasn’t as if I just left home for the first time. I was used to being away from family.

AOL Health: What did you miss most about home?

Letofsky: Long-term friendships. For five years, while meeting new friends every day, I didn’t have the history with these new friends that I have with those at home.

Other things I missed — a fridge so I could choose what I could eat. I missed a laundry basket so I could separate the clean clothes from the dirty ones. I missed the blender so I could make blueberry smoothies, and knowing my way around without a map.

AOL Health: Do you try and keep in touch with the people you met?

Letofsky: I stay in touch with a lot of people I met on the road. I love opening my e-mail for the day and seeing e-mails from Malaysia, Thailand and Australia.

AOL Health: You’ve walked the globe, fundraised for breast cancer, made a movie about your experiences. What’s next?

Letofsky: I’m nesting. I like coming home every night and having routine, having friends to do coffee with on Saturday morning and to be in full control over what I eat. I love being involved with my community and getting to know the neighbors.

Other than that, I have done speaking engagements about my walk, and the book I decided to write about my experiences has just been completed, and so I am looking for a publisher.

AOL Health: Can you describe your book?

Letofsky: My book is funny and anecdotal, full of the incremental events that add up to the big lessons. It includes journals I kept on the road, but it’s more than that. While it has some serious moments, it’s not a serious book; it’s fun and entertaining. I love how it’s come out. It tells the story in a sort of anti-Eat, Pray, Love fashion. I never went out to “find myself” — I knew who I was when I was seven and had no front teeth and wore cat-eye glasses.

First Woman to Walk the World Shares First-Hand Account

Since completing her global walk, Polly Letofsky has written a yet-unpublished book, for which the working titles include “Little Steps, Big Feat,” and “Around the World With BOB” (BOB is the name of the buggy, which was her constant companion on her walk, pictured left). Letofsky has shared an excerpt of the book with AOL Health. In it, she shares some of the surprising lessons she learned.

*The following text is excerpted from Letofsky’s forthcoming book.

The world is a pretty good place — despite what we hear on the 6 o’clock news. Of course there were difficult times, I knew there would be. But the bumps in the road were the fabric that made up this journey, and just like our trek through life, it’s the tough times that make us who we are, the character builders.

There’s no greater education or means to personal growth than a walk around the world. Personally, I would like to see every political science, journalism and business major ditch their college thesis and instead spend their senior year walking across a country. Any country. Their assignments would be to talk to local farmers and businessmen, talk to locals at the “Ma and Pa” café, talk to local developers and mayors and the policemen that stop and ask what you’re up to. When you’re walking village to village talking to the local families, educators, politicians and road workers, and you sit around their dinner tables every night, you learn how various policies affect them, having to consider an entire set of elements that wouldn’t be the case for the neighboring village, city or country. And incrementally you become a seasoned critical thinker.

I knew this journey would be an education, but I was thinking more along the lines of languages, geography, history, but who could’ve guessed I’d learn so much about mango farming, the international trucking industry, or become knowledgeable about city planning, architecture, and not just languages, but the history of languages. My brain is stuffed silly with useless information I may never use again. (An upside is that recently the New York Times Crossword had the clue, “Smelly fruit in Malaysia” and without missing a beat I filled in D-U-R-I-A-N. It would hardly get me a job — and it was the only answer I got — but I stood proud if even for a moment.)

People often ask how this walk has changed me. I’m sure these five years have affected me in ways I’ll never fully comprehend, but there are obvious changes, like the way I bond with strangers instantly, the way I react to a seemingly overwhelming task, or how I compartmentalize a difficult situation and just keep putting one step in front of the other until I’m past it. But I’ve also noticed changes full of contradictions.

When people frequently ask, “What were the best of times? The worst of times?” It’s my observation that they were the same things. For example, I loved learning the languages and trying out a new word, marveling that the funny sounds coming out of my mouth actually communicated an idea, a mood or an action. On the other side of that, there were nights when I was so tired and grumpy, I just wanted to ask where the campground was and understand the answer.

Likewise, meeting locals from around the world was priceless. Staying at their homes, hearing about their lifestyles and the issues of their day in their industry, their country. The other side of that is that sometimes at the end of a long day I just wanted to sit in a hot tub, turn on CNN and not answer the questions, oh God, the incessant questions.

My biggest education by far, though, has been in my discovery of America. My patriotism surprises me because I don’t recall giving two hoots about being an American or otherwise prior to leaving. But to travel through various cultures, particularly through what was this turbulent crossroads in world history, and discover the real meaning in freedom of religion, freedom of speech, free to be whoever you want to be, and to have equal rights protected by law, to discover my own roots and how this country helped shape who I am, those are my walk’s greatest lessons.

Letofsky’s Brother Shares What Inspired Him to Document Her Story on Film

“My reaction to first hearing that she was going to walk around the world was, ‘I’m going to make the documentary,’” says Polly’s older brother P.J. “I had no doubt that she could accomplish the feat knowing her athletic and world traveling background, and that she wouldn’t just haphazardly say something like that without thinking it through.”

P.J.’s background in making music videos, producing and directing gave him the direction for the film, but like Polly, finances were an issue. “I wanted to do it right, [with] the highest quality [presentation], because I knew (and still know) that the story would last forever. I was unable to raise much money, and decided that if I was going to do it I better just do it, kind of like Polly’s attitude taking on the walk.”

The film premiered October 22, 2008 at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a fundraiser for the Mayo Clinic (Women’s Cancer Program and Breast Cancer Diagnostic Clinic) and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

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