Uplifting, exhausting, inspiring and sometimes overwhelming.

Walkers who participate in the Breast Cancer 3-Day event to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure say all those emotions -- and more -- come to the surface when they walk 60 miles in three days to help the fight against breast cancer.

Taking place in 14 cities across the country, the Breast Cancer 3-Day brings in millions of dollars annually for breast cancer research, education and community outreach programs. The last 3-Day walk in the nationwide series takes place in San Diego from Friday to Sunday.

About 5,000 walkers will begin arriving at the Del Mar Fairgrounds at 5:30 a.m. Friday, armed with sleeping bags, tent assignments and tons of enthusiasm. Then, after a pep talk, they will be sent off on a route through the streets of La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Hillcrest and downtown San Diego, ending with a closing ceremony at Petco Park at 4 p.m. Sunday.

"My husband said it looked like the troops walking home from Valley Forge," said Rancho Santa Fe resident Sheila Rose of last year's closing ceremonies. "There were some on crutches, and limping, with bandages. One woman was so hunched over with osteoporosis she could barely walk. But you think, 'Gosh, if these people can do it, I can do it too.' This walk means so much to so many people."

Rose, a breast cancer survivor, belongs to "Wild Ramblin' Roses," one of the teams from North County participating this year. She began it last year with her two grown daughters, Stephanie Lytle and Stacy Friscia, as well as four other friends who have been with her through her cancer journey. The seven women have raised the minimum $2,200 required for each member from lemonade stands and sales of handmade greeting cards.

Rose said she pledged to take part in the 3-Day walk three years ago when she was on her way to an appointment with an oncologist after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

"I was sitting at a stop light in Del Mar, watching all the people on the walk, and I said that if I make it through this, I would walk the next time," Rose recalled.

Just six months after finishing radiation and chemotherapy, she walked with her daughters in the 3-Day walk for the first time last November. She said that even though she had not been able to train as many do, she completed the entire 60 miles.

"It's just so emotionally charged," she said. "From the people who come out to clap and cheer along the street, the little kids who hand out stickers, the survivors who come out and wave flags and men who are walking alone. It wipes you out -- physically and emotionally -- but you always know why you are doing this."

Each day of the event, the walkers chalk up between 14 and 23 miles, the first two days being longer than the last. At the end of Friday and Saturday, most walkers spend the night sleeping in tents in a special camp. Organizers say the camp has all of the comforts of home, with hot showers, hot meals, entertainment and medical care.

Most walkers decorate their tents, which are grouped by teams. On the first night at camp, there is a karaoke contest and on the second night there is a live band and dancing.

But the real focus of the event is the cause.

Each morning, the route opens at 6:30 a.m. and closes about 7 p.m, with walkers expected to keep a 3-mile-per-hour pace. Ten minutes are budgeted for each pit stop and 30 minutes for lunch.

Along the route, thousands of supporters typically urge on walkers by honking horns, clapping, dressing up, cheering or waving homemade signs. Hundreds more volunteer to serve meals, drive vans, give medical assistance and hand out water and supplies.

Organizers insist the event not be a race. In fact, running is prohibited. But if walkers get injured or become too exhausted to continue, vans can pick up walkers and take them to the next pit stop, or back to camp.

While many choose to be picked up in the vans and return to camp, many more, such as Sheila Rose, walk the entire course.

To cover 60 miles in three days, training is required, even for those who are reasonably fit.

A training schedule was put up six months ago on the 3-Day Web site, with participants receiving weekly e-mails outlining suggested training walks and sharing tips. Training handbooks and videos for the walkers are on the site, too.

The handbook, for example, suggests walkers train on different types of terrain, as the 3-Day will be on grass, trails and asphalt. It also suggests that walkers practice in the rain, because the event will take place no matter how inclement the weather. It also gives suggestions on footgear.

Many North County teams participating in the walk have been meeting after work and during the weekends for months.

Event organizers held a full-day expo in September at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla. After a 10-mile walk, in which volunteers cheered along the route and handed out food and water to the walkers, participants collected in the gymnasium to check out the gear available for purchase and talk with experts.

"The big benefit of training is finding out what stuff worked and what didn't," said Stacy Friscia, Rose's daughter. "I wore sunglasses last time that fell off because I didn't have a chance to test-drive them first. You've also got to find out what rubs and what hurts after you have been walking all day."

Because blisters are the most common injury on the 3-Day walk, good walking shoes are essential. Trainers suggest buying a shoe that is one-half to one size larger than usual, but one that fits snugly over the heel.

Walkers are also schooled about how to prevent chafing and blisters. How to recognize early symptoms of heat stress or dehydration are covered, as well as what to carry in a pack.

But, experts say, walking is the best training for the event.

"I would go out for the whole day walking once a weekend," said Encinitas city staffer Diane Langager, who walked last year. "I would take my phone and my iPod and I would be gone all day walking up the coast. It was kind of nice to unwind … and I loved that I could eat all I wanted."

Eating and drinking often during the walk is crucial to endurance, according to nutritionists with the Komen walk. And just because there is a great deal of exercise, Friscia said this is no time to go on a diet.

"They have something great to eat all the time," she said.

Friscia's sister, Stephanie Lytle, 39, said that she never thought the 3-Day walk was something she would ever do, even now that she is doing it for the second time.

"It changes what you think about yourself and what you think you can do," she said. "Now, all of a sudden there isn't anything that is impossible."

Contact staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster at (760) 901-4074 or rwebster@nctimes.com.