August 4, 2009
219 years of Service
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Team In Training
In 2007, I ran my first marathon. At that time I had two goals: the first was to run the Marine Corp marathon in honor of my son, a former Marine. The second was to do so with Team In Training in honor of my brother-in-law who has battled lymphoma for over 8 years.
When I began, I felt I knew what TNT was all about: complete a marathon and raise some money for a good cause. But as my involvement deepened, so did my understanding and appreciation of not only the organization’s purpose, but also what it meant to be a part of such a noble mission.
At the pasta party on the night before the race, I was truly humbled by the appreciation shown to those of us who had trained and raised money. I was emotional as I listened to the guest speaker tell her story of survival and I was extremely proud to be a part of something so incredibly special.
It was and remains one of the more meaningful and rewarding experiences of my life so when I decided to do another marathon, I knew I wanted to once again be a part of TNT. I considered the New York Marathon but quite frankly in the current economic climate, I was too intimidated by the fund raising minimum. So I decided on Richmond and even though it wasn’t a TNT event I contacted Elliot Smith, the Campaign Coordinator for the Virginia chapter and asked if I could still raise money. He set up a donation site for me and I started training.
People often ask me, “How can you run that many miles”.
I think the best answer I could possibly give anyone is to share the following quote from a friend in Michigan who made a donation to my fund raising campaign. For her words truly embody the reason I and thousands of others, do what we do.
"Tim, as someone who has lived with multiple myeloma for 15 years, I owe my life to you & others who are giving in any way they can to help find treatments. 15 years ago, they said I had 3 years . . . today, I walked 7 miles. Keep runnin'!"
At the pasta party on the night before the race, I was truly humbled by the appreciation shown to those of us who had trained and raised money. I was emotional as I listened to the guest speaker tell her story of survival and I was extremely proud to be a part of something so incredibly special.
It was and remains one of the more meaningful and rewarding experiences of my life so when I decided to do another marathon, I knew I wanted to once again be a part of TNT. I considered the New York Marathon but quite frankly in the current economic climate, I was too intimidated by the fund raising minimum. So I decided on Richmond and even though it wasn’t a TNT event I contacted Elliot Smith, the Campaign Coordinator for the Virginia chapter and asked if I could still raise money. He set up a donation site for me and I started training.
People often ask me, “How can you run that many miles”.
I think the best answer I could possibly give anyone is to share the following quote from a friend in Michigan who made a donation to my fund raising campaign. For her words truly embody the reason I and thousands of others, do what we do.
"Tim, as someone who has lived with multiple myeloma for 15 years, I owe my life to you & others who are giving in any way they can to help find treatments. 15 years ago, they said I had 3 years . . . today, I walked 7 miles. Keep runnin'!"
If you would like to make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, please click here and thank you for your support.
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