My Fund-Raising Kane Page

TRAINING UPDATES BELOW

Photo: Finishing the Summerfair 10K in Carlisle on July 6.

Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to Katie's Team In Training home page.

Guess what I am doing on October 19? No, not giving birth to my first child, but the pain may be close or greater. I am running 26.2 miles as part of the Nike Women’s Marathon! Never in a million years did I think I would say that sentence!

So why in the world am I doing this? As many of you know, last year my mom battled breast cancer. She is in good health one year later and we are thankful for medical research that diagnosed and treated her cancer. So when a dear college friend invited me to join an endeavor to fight blood cancer, I could not resist this outdoor adventure and dream. Seven of my Houghton College friends are taking on this challenge. Our group of Houghton chicks are running as part of Team In Training (TNT), an endurance sports training program that raises money to support the work of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. As I share about running this race, almost everyone tells me of someone they know or are related to that has battled Leukemia or Lymphoma. I am competing in honor of my mom and Bob Seibert, a young man I have prayed for during the past year. I met Bob’s family through working at Camp YoliJwa and we are grateful he is currently in remission from leukemia. Cancer does not discriminate and we must keep striving to make a difference. We need your support to cross the ultimate finish line – a cure for leukemia and lymphoma!

Please make a donation to support my participation in TNT and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s mission. I am personally committed to raising $4000 by August 1st to directly support this cause. Will you join me? You may either send a check in the provided pre-addressed, stamped envelope or make an online donation via my TNT training website at http://pages.teamintraining.org/cpa/nikesf08/kkane. Check it out and keep updated on my progress. Read about my first eight weeks of training and the two races I’ve already completed to get me in long distance shape - a 10K trail run (6-miles) and the Danville half-marathon (13.2 miles).

Thank you in advance for your support. I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!

Check out our Houghton training blog at http://nikejournal.blogspot.com/

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WEEK 3 - JULY 7, 2008

I’m into week 3 of my marathon training. This all began over 2 months ago when my friend Amy invited us to join her in the Nike Women’s marathon. I began training right away and finished my first half marathon at the end of May. I have really enjoyed the mental, physical and spiritual challenge in this entire adventure. Since I made the decision to run the marathon, I have participated in 4 races to get into the racing groove. My first race was a 10K in Deep Creek, MD. It was a challenging course that started on the top of a mountain, went 2 miles down a ski slope and then 4 miles back up. It was a trail run which was muddy, uneven and tons of fun. I ran it with two of my greatest cheerleaders, Jan and Josh Beck. Jan stuck with me throughout the race and Josh won it! Jan and I finished with a time of 1 hour and 6 minutes.

From there I ran the Rivertowns Half-Marathon in Danville, PA. It was my first half which many of the participants thought was insane! The course was described as rolling hills which is what is in Orrstown. Everyone else suggested I should have started on a flat course. Oh well, not something to think about at the start the line! I hit a mental block at mile 11 but chugged on through to finish with a time of 2 hours, 16 minutes. A minute behind my goal, but there is always next time!

Next, I ran the old hometown race in Newville’s Fountainfest 5K Run. It was along a rail trail and I was glad to race with lots of familiar faces. This one I ran with Lori, my C-burg running partner, who has a half and full marathon under her belt.

Yesterday, I ran in my favorite race of all, the Summerfair 10K. It was the flattest course I have run to date and I was back to running it with Jan. She helps keep my pace even and feeds me with encouragement along the way. We finished with a time of 51 minutes and 43 seconds! We shaved 15 minutes off of our May 10 which was probably due to the flat course. And a HUGE thanks to my mom! Not only has she been to all my races, but she got a great picture of me approaching the finish line. (See above.) Keep checking back on my progress. And give me a call if you ever want to run!