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Before Laurel Long and Dr. Jennifer Bail experienced a marathon Trailblaze Challenge, they stood miles apart on the subject of hiking.

鈥淗iking was one of my top 10 things I was never going to do in life because I hated the outdoors,鈥� says Long, associate vice president, Human Resources, at 麻豆精品视频 (麻豆精品视频), a part of The University of Alabama System. 鈥淚 thought those people were crazy.鈥�

鈥淗iking is one of my favorite activities, just being outdoors,鈥� says Bail, associate professor in the 麻豆精品视频 College of Nursing. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great way to de-stress and exercise.鈥�

The Trailblaze Challenge shows how a great cause 鈥� making wishes come true for children with critical illnesses 鈥� can overcome doubts, inspire commitment and bring people together.

鈥淚t was just an awesome community of people that I stepped into,鈥� says Long, who first signed up in 2023 at the urging of her fitness coach. 鈥淎s it turned out, I love to hike. I wasn鈥檛 prepared to enjoy it, and it is very hard, but I just love it!鈥�

About two years after Long went crazy for hiking, she served as a finish-line volunteer when Bail completed her first 26.3-mile Trailblaze hike on May 4, 2024, in Talladega National Forest. Long, a second-year Trailblaze veteran, had been part of the April 20 hike group.

The efforts of Bail and Long and the rest of the hikers raised $1,047,235 for wish kids this year, the third year in a row that the Make-A-Wish Alabama Trailblaze Challenge has topped $1 million. This past year Make-A-Wish Alabama granted a record 215 wishes. The Trailblaze Challenge, going into its ninth year in 2025, is the group鈥檚 largest fundraiser.

Attending an information session in January is the first step on the Trailblaze path. Details on session sign-ups for 2025 will be available on the website, AlabamaTrailblaze.org, after Oct. 17. The free sessions are required for all hikers, but attending a session is not a commitment to hike.

鈥淲hen I went to the information session,鈥� Bail says, 鈥渢hey had several children who were either waiting for wishes or who had already had a wish granted, and they shared their stories. I didn鈥檛 understand the extent of Make-A-Wish and how many children were waiting for wishes and the impact that the wishes have on the children.鈥�

Wishes take various forms 鈥� vacation trips, meeting favorite celebrities, special presents like a bike or a puppy, even a day as a princess or a firefighter.

鈥淪ometimes, because they鈥檙e ill, they鈥檙e considered a weird kid at school,鈥� Bail says. 鈥淥ne child鈥檚 wish was to go on a Pokemon shopping spree because he loved Pokemon. When he went back to school, he had all this cool Pokemon stuff, and everybody wanted to be his friend.鈥�

What wishes really deliver is hope, and hope can bring concrete health benefits. Bail cites research showing that children who were granted wishes can have better outcomes.

鈥淪ometimes when a child is going through treatment, it鈥檚 really hard. If they know that their wish is under review or they鈥檙e going to be granted a wish, it gives them something to fight for. They have to get better because they can鈥檛 have their wish granted while they鈥檙e in the hospital.鈥�

Wish kids are referred to the program by physicians. For children to be eligible, they must be between 2 陆 to 18 years old and diagnosed with a progressive, degenerative or malignant condition that is placing the child鈥檚 life in jeopardy.

The wishes, Bail notes, benefit the child鈥檚 family, too.

鈥淲hen you have a child with critical illness, it takes a toll on the entire family, not only emotionally and physically but financially. You may be staying in the hospital for months at a time. You might have to quit your job. A lot of children ask to go on a family trip because they want to spend time with their family doing something other than being in the hospital.鈥�

Nursing is Bail鈥檚 second career. After her mother died of breast cancer, she left her job at Teledyne Brown Engineering to pursue a nursing degree with oncology as her area of interest. She works with adult patients, and she says she鈥檚 glad for this 鈥渁mazing鈥� Make-A-Wish opportunity to help children who really need a boost.

Bail and Long agree that the marathon hike is physically challenging, but you don鈥檛 have to be a marathon athlete to participate.

鈥淚f you can walk two to three miles, we can get you to where you need to be,鈥� Bail says. 鈥淓very week they have training hikes in Huntsville, Birmingham and Mobile. You鈥檙e building up every week. You increase your miles. They give you a training plan that includes the stuff you need to do between the hikes, maybe cross training, walking, yoga or weightlifting.鈥�

鈥淚'm already thinking about how can I train differently and get better prepared for next year,鈥� says Long, who was surprised this year when her fellow hikers gave her the Spirit of Trailblazer Award. 鈥淛ust try it. You have nothing to lose other than going on a few hikes and meeting some great people.

鈥淎nd then we have the added bonus to make a wish come true for the kids. Now I divide my life into before Trailblaze Challenge and after because it really has been so profoundly impactful for me.鈥�