Welcome to my Team In Training home page for the Nike Women's Marathon 2011.

Once again, I am training to participate in the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco on October 16th as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. As many of you know, I spent last summer/fall fundraising and training for the Nike Women’s Marathon. I met my fundraising goal and crossed the marathon finish line on two stable feet with a smile on my face. Many of you generously supported my endeavor, and I am deeply grateful for that. With your help, I raised over $5000 -- a huge accomplishment and an amount that significantly contributed to patient services and care for those battling blood cancers.

My entire experience with TNT was amazing. I trained with some of the most caring and self-less athletes I have ever met, and the support and camaraderie I experienced with my team was remarkable. During the marathon, the streets of San Francisco were flooded with runners in purple Team in Training jerseys. I felt proud to be part of TNT, an organization that has raised more than 1 billion dollars for blood cancer research and patient services. I will never forget the emotion I felt when I saw a TNT supporter cheering me on with a sign that read, “I am a survivor because of you.”

This year I am again fundraising and training for the Nike Women’s Marathon, which will be held in San Francisco on October 16. Even more exciting, I am on staff as a Mentor for this year’s Nike team. My role as a Mentor involves guiding, inspiring and motivating new participants as they fundraise and train for this marathon. I am committed to do as much as I can to help them have a rewarding TNT experience, and I am very excited and honored to be on the staff and fill all these roles.

In addition to helping my mentees reach their own fundraising and running goals, I am committed to raise another $3000 this year. With your help, I can make that happen. I hope that you will again join my journey by donating what you can. Please know that your donations are tax-deductible (the Society’s tax ID is 13-5644916). The goal of LLS is that at least 75% of all donations go directly to the cause. LLS has been rated by Money magazine as one of the top ten charities for having the highest percentage of funds raised directly benefitting research and patient services, so I’m asking you to be as generous as possible.

This season will be challenging, but I know that my hard work will be meaningful. An estimated 139,000 people are diagnosed with a blood cancer every year. Every 4 minutes a person is diagnosed with one of these cancers, and one person every 10 minutes dies from a blood cancer. This can happen to any of us, and these facts are more than enough to get us into action and convince us to work to make a difference.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for considering supporting me again this year. Please know that any encouragement or donation is helpful and appreciated.

I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress.

Also, I frequently write about my fundraising and marathon training on my blog, A Slice of Wife, at http://mbahnson.wordpress.com

Thanks for your support!

-Maggie Bahnson