Welcome to my blog!
I decided to venture into the blogosphere to keep interested people up to date on my progress as I train for and run the Nike San Francisco Women's Marathon through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. Not only am I running, but I am also helping coach as "team captain!"
For those of you who are not familiar with Team in Training (TNT), it is a program where anyone (read: you don't have to be an athlete) can train for marathons, half marathons and triathlons while raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). Participants receive coaching from certified coaches, group runs, as well as transportation to the race, hotel accommodations, a pre-race pasta party and a victory party for their efforts. Fundraising expectations vary, depending on the expenses. The LLS is careful not to spend more than 25% of their donated funds on administrative costs.
The first time I ran a marathon with TNT was in 1994. There were only three of us from the whole state of Wisconsin, and there was one race, the Los Angeles Marathon, in March. Now there are hundreds of participants and many races to choose from! I saw an ad in Runner's World magazine for TNT, and thought about my grade school classmate, Doreen, who had died of leukemia when we were in third grade. I called for more information, and they connected me with the Wisconsin chapter, located in Milwaukee. I was living in Marshfield at the time, but I made the trek to the big city to sign up and find out what I needed to do. I had to raise $2600 in order to be able to run the marathon. With the help of my then-boyfriend (now husband), Scott, I raised the money, made it through Wisconsin winter training (thanks to my treadmill, some movies, and Scott handing me Gatorade and Power Bars when necessary), and we were off to L.A. It was a great experience.
Over the years I knew I wanted to do another TNT event at some point. Scott and I got married, moved, had two kids, moved again, moved again, had another kid, and through all that we both switched jobs a few times. Then in 2004 we received a mailer from LLS that had their fall TNT lineup, which included the Dublin Marathon in Ireland. By this time I knew several people who were fighting, surviving, or who had died of leukemia or lymphoma, including my cousin, Kai and my good friend Andrea. I asked Scott if he'd like to do it with me - that he could go to all the group runs and I would stay with the kids, and that I'd do the fundraising. He agreed! I was also training for the Twin Cities Marathon, which was three weeks before Dublin, so I had a pretty intense training schedule. I woke up most days at 4:30 a.m. to get in my run before Scott went out for his run, so someone was always home with the (sleeping) kids. I sent out a lot of fundraising letters to family and friends, and sometimes when people would send a check they would tell us of someone they knew with leukemia or lymphoma. By the time we ran the marathon, we had 11 people we were running in memory of, and 10 people we were running in honor of. Every name was written on the shirts we wore. When we ran the marathon, it was the first time we ran together! We ran the whole distance together and celebrated with a Guinness or two afterward.
A little more than eight months after running the Dublin Marathon, Scott was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Yes, pretty ironic. You never think when you are writing a check for a charity that someday you may be the beneficiary of that donation. After the initial shock, Scott called one of our run coaches and the person who leads the TNT program at LLS (Kim). Kim immediately sent a packet of information, including an application for financial assistance. While we were fortunate enough not to need the assistance, it was nice to know that for those who need it, it is available, especially since I have been working in the area of healthcare for the underserved for several years. I also talked to a patient services person who offered a care partner and support groups. The Society was there for us.
Scott went through chemotherapy and radiation. At one point during his treatment, Scott's oncologist said that new research had come out since the beginning of his treatment, so they were going to change course a bit. WOW! The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society funds a great deal of research and is responsible for funding research that has led to breakthrough treatments.
I am happy to say that Scott is doing well now. Unfortunately, while Scott was undergoing treatment, my cousin died of complications from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and a long-time friend died from a rare form of leukemia. Another friend was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. It's as if leukemia, lymphoma and other blood-related cancers have become an epidemic! I just had to get more involved. I recently became a board member of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - Wisconsin Chapter. I am honored to serve such a worthwhile organization. I also decided it was time for another marathon! Which leads me to San Fran.
The Nike San Francisco Women's Marathon is not only a TNT destination site, it is a marathon benefitting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! This means that money from every entry goes to LLS. How cool is that? And here's something even cooler: it's on Scott's birthday! Is that symbolic or what?
So now that you have way more background than you probably wanted, I hope you will come back to track my progress in training, helping other participants, and fundraising. I will also provide insight on TNT as I experience it, and will offer bits of information on some of the diseases we are fighting.
In my next entry I will provide information on how YOU can support my efforts to raise $5000 to help fund research, provide patient support, and FIND A CURE!
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