Train, Endure, Achieve, Matter

Train, Endure, Achieve, Matter...it may sound a little corny, but it's a good reminder why I spend my Saturday mornings with Team in Training. I get questions like "isn't it hard asking people for money?" or "why do you do it?".  Those are fair questions. I don't have a close family member affected by blood cancer, but I lost a co-worker to lymphoma years ago and it impacted me for a long time. 

O.J Lawrence was the afternoon DJ on KyXy for a long time. He worked until a few days before he lost his battle with blood cancer. He kept a positive attitude and a smile right up until the end. 

Around that time, I started running marathons with a few friends and I saw the "purple people" out on the race course, and all of their supporters. I kept thinking "I want some of that"!  A few years later I was asked to join Team in Training, a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and talk about my experiences on the radio. That first season changed my life, I felt "called" to do this, and I became a believer in the cause...to help people, including a lot of kids, with leukemia and lymphoma. I met these people face-to-face at the beginning of our Saturday runs. And I ran alongside people who had battled blood cancer, and parents who were running for their kids with blood cancer. 

Last year, my friend Barbara, who has supported me since my first season with TNT, found out her husband John had lymphoma.  He went through 7 rounds of chemotherapy and spent a lot of time in the hospital. He's doing well, but has to wait 8 years before his doctor will give him a clean bill of health.

This year, I received a donation from my old teammate Adrienne, whose 3-year old niece Hannah has been fighting leukemia. Fortunately, she has about a 90-percent chance of beating it. Most of us already have, or will have a connection with blood cancer. There are a lot of new drugs that have been developed to treat leukemia & lymphoma, some right here at Scripps in La Jolla, but not a cure..yet.

I run because I'm thankful for my health and the health of my family. So when I'm asking for donations, it not for me - it's for those families that aren't so lucky, that need help going through treatment and hopefully beating their cancer, and eventually finding a cure.  

Running 26.2 miles may sound like a long run to some people, but it's a heck of a lot easier than going through cancer treatment, and the side affect for me is that I've never been in better condition. I'm in good shape, have lots of energy (which I sometimes need to keep up with my kids), and this year I turn 50!  I don't feel like 50. As far as I'm concerned, as long as I'm running marathons, 50 is the new 35!!!

This year is my 8th season with TNT, this will be my 14th marathon, and I'll be running it in Anchorage, Alaska, on June 18th -- ON MY 50TH BIRTHDAY!  I'll be celebrating my 50 years of good health, and I'll be doing my small part to help others make it to their 50th.  Please help me make this one count.