Rewind to 2007, there I was, a non-runner looking to complete what I thought was impossible at the time - run 26.2 miles. At first, it was all about fitness, and surviving. Little did I know that it was that first season of Team in Training that would change my life forever.

Over the years, I have experienced many marathons, and even had the courage to sign up last year for the IronTEAM without even knowing how to swim, then eventually finishing 140.6 miles this past june (2.4 mile swim, 112 bike, 26.2 run) at Vineman in Santa Rosa, CA.

Sure, I decided to come back and do another 10 months of training with my IronTEAM family to ultimately do Ironman Canada in August with smaller races sprinkled in between, but the goal is much more than that now. It doesn't matter the distance or time. Take a step back and look at the broader view of why we do this. Why we fight. Why we help others. We are in the business of helping people. We do it for people who can't. Last year, our team raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars to help fund research and help cancer patient’s lives.

A few years ago with the TNT Westside Marathon Team, where

coaches & mentors crossed the finish line with one of our

honored teammates, Laura Maloney, completing her first

marathon, San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon.

Like the other members of Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training, I will be raising funds to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma.

Please make a donation in support of my efforts with Team In Training and help advance the research for cures.

Thanks!

Marvin

Twitter: @sketch678

Blog: Running Without Music

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The Road to Ironman Canada:

Las Vegas Marathon (Dec), Austin Marathon (Feb), Desert International Tri (Mar), Wildflower Olympic Tri (May), Ironman Hawaii 70.3 Tri (June), Vineman Full Aquabike (July)... then Ironman Canada (August)!

Disclaimer: Not all races are IronTEAM training specific races.