Three
Teens Trek 160 Miles to See 'N Sync
Three
Michigan teenagers walked 160 miles to check out today's 'N Sync concert in
Pontiac, Mich. But don't worry, they did it for a good cause. No, not just to
cheer on Justin, J.C., and the boys — they're hardly charity cases … yet.
The trio used its eight-day trek to raise funds for a local children's hospital
and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Hey, if you spent eight days trudging
alongside a highway, you'd be worried about drunks behind the wheel, too.
Sarah
Hayes, 16; Jamie Johnson, 15; and Stephanie Flick, 14, came up with the idea
while they were waiting in line to buy copies of 'N Sync's No Strings Attached,
according to a story in the Detroit Free
Press. In the course of pledging their allegiance to the chart-topping boy
band, the Portage, Mich., residents swore to see the show in Pontiac by any
means necessary, even if they had to walk all the way.
Taking a
tip from 'N Sync's charity endeavors, the threesome opted to turn the adventure
into a fundraiser, and, in the weeks leading up to the hike, drummed up over
$2,000 — earmarked for the Children's Hospital at Bronson and M.A.D.D. — via
bake sales, car washes, and pledge sponsors. Now that they've completed their
journey, they estimate they'll collect another $4,000 in proceeds.
The girls
set out July 8, with Johnson's father accompanying them by car. They hiked 25
miles each day for the first three days, 14 miles per day for the next two, and
picked up the pace to 18 miles per day for the final three. The Hampton Inn
hotel chain provided free accommodations along the way.
"I
don't know if we'd do it again," Hayes told the Free
Press. "We'd need at least a year to recuperate."
Rumors that
the boys from 'N Sync were seen in a Pontiac drug store purchasing Epsom salts,
practicing an a capella arrangement of New Kids on the Block's 1990 hit
"Step by Step" as they exited, were unconfirmed at press time.