The pack bears down onto his back, the straps dig into his shoulder blades while drops of sweat cascade down, absorbed by the arid dirt. The force not only pressures his shoulders, but his mind as well; the idea of representing the fallen soldiers hangs over his head, pushing him through every step. He takes out a bottle of water from his backpack to satisfy his parched lips, quenching his thirst, but not quelling his desire to continue walking.
Mr. Mark Wester, economics teacher and director of the Information Commons, will be experiencing these images this upcoming Memorial Day weekend, May 26th at the Carry the Load walk on the Katy Trail. The point of this walk is for veterans and others to symbolically walk with heavy backpacks on their backs to represent the “heavy load” soldiers bear for our country. He will walk for 20 hours and 13 minutes, representing the current year, 2013, in order to commemorate a group of fallen U.S. soldiers. “I do not have a set person I am walking for, but I am walking for the guys on the plaque out front of Jesuit” said Mr. Wester. “I am carrying the load for the fallen in general. I feel the need to help carry the load.”
Mr. Wester is not the only person with a Jesuit connection partaking in the walk. Fellow military member Patrick Dossett ’98, who became involved through the non-profit group of Tip of the Spear, is also participating. In totality, Carry the Load has raised $563,111 and Mr. Wester’s faction of charity has raised $930. “It is benefiting the people who paid the ultimate price.”
When asked how he got involved in this walk Wester stated, “I started doing a program where I walked around and carried weight, spending the day paying respects to people who gave more than me.” Last year, Mr. Wester carried 65 pounds for 12 miles. Through this, he paid respects for the fallen members of the military, and he created a donation fund to help the fallen and their families. Then “Patrick Dossett sent me a link of the Carry the Load website, and I joined his team. It spoke to exactly what I was doing. You can simply donate money, time, participate, or even show up and cheer.” It is a great way to show reverence for the soldiers that paid the ultimate price.
Mr. Wester got down to the specifics of what he was carrying. He commented that he isn’t “going to carry a weighted and heavy backpack because of the extended distance. It can really destroy your body. I am carrying a backpack of about 20 lbs. because I am carrying my own water, my own power bars and snacky food stuff. The point of this is a continual output of the 20 hours and 13 minutes. If people could do more than me, then I can at least do this.”
When Mr. Wester carried the 65 lbs., he trained like any runner would. He started walking short miles, such as 6 or 7 miles with minimal weight. Then he started increasing both values in order to prepare for the real thing. However, for this long walk he said that he isn’t doing anything abnormal. “I am fearful about this event because I am walking a distance I am unfamiliar with, and a time frame I am unfamiliar with. Physically, I am not as concerned because I am not running or carrying a sustained load. I will be in a world of hurt. The point is to get to a point where you want to quit and then know that you are doing this for people who have already given everything, and keep pushing.”
The walk will take place on the Katy Trail on Sunday, May 26th, and thankfully, there will be water and resting stations all along the course. “I can roughly walk 10 hours at 3.5 miles per hour. So I figured out that I can walk for 50 minutes and rest for 10 minutes. During the 10 minutes of rest I can have a sock change, and foot elevation.” Mr. Wester also presumed that he will get some kind of card that will log your time throughout the 4 mile lap system. He is also very intrigued that this walking scheme will be taking place in the evening hours. “It adds a very interesting sense of detachment by the fact it is dark. You will feel tired, you won’t be able to see, you will be distracted by things you don’t usually see in the day. It will provide an in-depth experience in turns of emotion.” This is because in these night time hours people walking on the same path as Mr. Wester will be talking about their military involvements.
Overall, Mr. Wester said that there has been a vast amount of encouragement from the Class of ’98 and the current faculty at Jesuit. Mr. Wester also asks students to participate not only through money, but by cheering on he and Patrick Dossett, or even volunteering at the Katy Trail tending resting or water stations. If you would like to participate in this fantastic event, contact Mr. Wester at MWester@jesuitcp.org and you can visit http://carrytheload.kintera.org/sgtwester for more details on the walk.
