Project Athena Grand Canyon hike
It only makes sense that Project Athena was the initiative of an adventure racer
05.10.2009
Officially, this Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim hike was a fund-raising trip. All together, the participants fund-raised $15,000, and all of that money will go to supporting future "athenaship" recipients. But what those future grant recipients will get out of Project Athena is far more than just a paid-for adventure.
Athenaship recipients are women who have literally had their world and their sense of identity fragmented by a serious illness. Being awarded an athenaship gives them something to strive for: a new goal in life, and a training schedule, with mentorship and coaching provided by the Project Athena founders team. But what follows their athenaship is even more powerful - and I have seen this in Sara Jones who ran in Costa Rica, and Kerrie Larson-Kerkman who raced the Great Wall of China Marathon, and now Sandy Kilburg who completed this hike. They emerge with a new sense of confidence, that they can set big goals for their future, and strive to achieve them, and even be role models or mentors to other people along the way, too. Instead of being identified as simply a "survivor", they emerge strong and driven and confident, with new ideas and goals of who to be and how to be.
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