Teams are made up of individuals. Without them, there is no team.

I know you have heard me talk about training for and running marathons a lot over the past two years. And, now I’m going to be training for yet another marathon that I will run on July 28, 2012. But, this one is special. It’s not special because of the location; I won’t be running in some far off, exotic place. I’ll be running this marathon right here in California (in Sonoma County to be specific). It’s still 26.2 miles. What makes this marathon special is what I will be doing before I run the marathon.

On the morning of July 28th, 2012, I will get up and start my day with a swim in the Russian River, a 2.4 mile swim, to be exact. And, then, when I finish that swim I will get on my bike and ride 112 miles through the rolling hills of Sonoma County. Then, after the swim and bike ride, I’ll lace up my running shoes and run the marathon. Yes, you read that correctly, I will be swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles and running 26.2 miles, all in one day – in 16.5 hours or less. That is a full distance triathlon, also known as an Ironman. On July 28th I will be an Ironman, after swimming, biking and running 140.6 combined miles (basically the distance from Hollywood to the US-Mexico border crossing in to Tijuana).

I will be training longer, and harder for this race than I have for any others I have participated in. This will be the toughest challenge of my life. And, I need your support to get through not only training, but also race day. For the next nine months I will swim, bike, run, cross train, fundraise, and do everything possible to not only cross that finish line, but RUN across that finish line with a smile on my face.

I am asking for your support once again in reaching this goal. Donations from supporters such as you are what will help me achieve my goal. And, those donations are put to great use by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, in patient and community service, public health education, professional education and in research. Great strides have been made recently in cancer research, with donations from generous supporters such as yourself, better, more effective cancer treatments, and even a cure are closer than ever.

Throughout my training I will be thinking about my (half) sister Stephanie and her mother, Janet Zamucen, who lost her battle with blood cancer, and all the other amazing wonderful people battling blood cancer (and all forms of cancer). No matter how hard my training gets, I know that nothing is as difficult as battling cancer. I will also be thinking about everyone who has supported me along my journey and continues to support me. Your support is an inspiration, without you, I wouldn’t be able to achieve my goals.

I know times are tough, but please consider making a donation, even a donation of $5 will help (not only in my personal goal, but also the millions of people living with and fighting cancer). You can donate via this page (If you would prefer to donate via check please send me an email and I will provide you an address you can send your donation to).

If you don’t already know why I choose to fundraise with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society please check out this blog post I wrote about why I keep returning to TNT:

http://runningatthespeedofme.blogspot.com/2011/07/why-i-keep-coming-back.html

You can follow my very exciting, sure to be difficult, training over the next nine months on my blog, http://runningatthespeedofme.blogspot.com

Thank you so much for your continued support!

Elisabeth Waller-Scott

1/25/12

Today I am thinking about Janet Zamucen, who I train and raise funds in memory of. And, of my sister, Janet's daughter. Even when its hard I know that I giving up isn't an option, just as Janet didn't give up. Janet, and Stephanie are my inspiration each and every day. Read this blog post I wrote about why I keep coming back to TNT to find out more:

http://runningatthespeedofme.blogspot.com/2011/07/why-i-keep-coming-back.html

Update:

So far my training has been going really well. Although, on my first bike ride along PCH I did have a small accident, and wound up with a concussion! I am healing well and have already gotten back on the bike and into the swing of training again! But, I still need your support!

To read all about my training, up to and including my accident check out my blog:

http://runningatthespeedof me.blogspot.com

Thank you for your continued support!

3/12/11

The past two weeks have been incredible and I have achieved things that wouldn't have been possible without the support of the IronTEAM or each of you! Two weekends ago I completed my first triathlon, Desert Tri International Distance (Read all about it here: http://runningatthespeedofme.blogspot.com/2012/03/desert-tri-ironteam-style.html). Desert Tri was such an incredible weekend and I didn't know how I would top it. But, this past weekend I acheived something even more incredible..,..

I rode my bike 57.5 miles in 4 hours! This is a big step for me. The last long ride we had I only got through 43 miles in 4 hours and was made to stop because of dehydration. I was properly hydrated and had my nutrition down for this long ride. And, I think I could have pushed the pace a little more - so that's what I'm going to do next time. I'm so excited for all of the progress I have made and have loved being on the IronTEAM so much. On Sunday I didn't rest either, we had a hilly 11 mile run, which was also pretty great. I'm so looking forward to improving and getting faster. And I'm really happy to finally be making friends with my bike!

Thank you for your continued support! Please make a donation and sponsor a mile! I still need your help!

5/15/12

Today is my 33rd birthday and all I want is for cancer to be gone. The only way to do that is by funding research toward finding a cure, and LLS helps get us one step closer by funding research grants for cures and treatments for blood cancer. Lets all celebrate more birthdays and make a donation, whatever size. Here's to birthdays!