Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to Josh & Stephanie's Team-in-Training home page!

In our effort to become healthier and to get into better shape, Stephanie and I came across the group, Team in Training, which is a part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). The team trains people to participate in endurance events, such as marathons, half-marathons, triathlons, and bicycling events. All of the members of the team raise funds to help fight leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.

We have decided to join the Team in Training and have signed up to compete in the Walt Disney World Marathon and Half-Marathon in Orlando on January 11th. Stephanie will be competing in the half-marathon and Josh will be competing in the marathon. I know, it sounds a little crazy to us too. We feel pretty confident though, since the team has a great staff that is going to provide us with the training and support we need to compete in the events. We just need to hold up our end of the bargain, which is to raise money for the LLS, and that’s where you come in… You see, you actually have the easiest roll in this crazy endeavor. All we need from you is a couple of dollars. We’ll do the tough part, training and running/walking 26.2 and 13.1 miles, and the LLS will do the really hard part, continuing the fight against blood cancers, but we won’t be able to do any of that without your support.

While some of the reasons we are competing in these events are for ourselves, the real reason is to honor all of the individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

Please make a donation to support our participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.

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

• Update: 9-13-08:

This morning was our first group training session as Stoney Creek Park. Stephanie did 4.5 miles, and Josh did 7 miles, yes in the rain. It was definitly wet, but we both had fun and felt pretty good afterwards. We'll try to keep the updates coming so everyone can follow the progress we make in our training.

• Update 9-21-08:

Our first full week of training went very well, although we were pretty busy we managed to stay on track and complete all of the training we had scheduled. Stephanie logged about 14 miles this week, including a 5 mile walk on Mackinac Island during our trip there this weekend. Josh ran a total of about 26 miles this week, including a 9 mile run around the perimeter of Mackinac Island. Thanks to everyone who has already donated!

• Update 9-28-08:

Thanks so much to everyone who has donated so far, we have gotten a few checks in the mail, in addition to the on-line donations. We also collected returnable cans and bottles from some friends and family, as well as from a neighborhood near our house and were able to earn about $65 toward our goal. If there is anyone who would like to donate their bottles and cans, just let us know and we would be happy to come pick them up.

Training went well this week, concluding with our long run this Saturday morning. Stephanie did 6 miles on Saturday, and Josh did 10 miles. Thanks again, and we'll make sure we keep you updated.

• Update 9-30-08:

We have planned our first official fundraiser on Thursday, October 23, 2008 at J. Bladwin's restaurant. 10% of all sales (in both the restuarant and the bar) that night will benefit our TNT team. You need to bring a copy of our flyer to the restuarant that night so we get credit for your meal, so if you're going to join us, please send us an email or call us and we'll get you a copy of the flyer. Also, please let us know if you need more information. We hope to see everyone there on the 23rd!

• Update 10-7-08:

We had another great week of training, although it is starting to get a little cold out there. Stephanie did about 12 and a half miles this week, and Josh did just over 30 miles. Our group training on Saturday was good, once we were able to warm up. Thanks again to everyone that has donated, and we hope to see you all at our fundraising event on October 23rd. Let us know if you are interested in coming and we will get you the info.

• Update 10-21-08:

It's been a couple of weeks since we've posted an update here, but rest assured, our training is going well. We are both feeling pretty good and are getting more and more confident with each training session. As you can see the fundraising is going well also, thanks to all of you. Today is our "recommitment date" which means that we have made our final commitment to the Team. You may notice the fundraising total go down a little bit on the web site, but that is just because we had to transfer some of the money from Josh's account to Stephanie's. We are still about 1/3 of the way to our goal.

• Don't forget our fundraising event this Thursday October 23rd at J. Baldwins Restaurant, bring your friends and family! Also feel free to pass this web site along to anyone you think might be willing to help out a great charity.

Thanks again, see you all soon!

• Update 11-04-08:

Hi everyone, thanks for visiting our website, and thank you so much to everyone that has donated and attended out fundraising events. Our fundraiser at J. Baldwin's went well, we had a lot of fun and were able to raise just over $600 thanks to our incredible friends and family and the great staff at Baldwin's.

We have just finalized the plans for our bowling fundraiser that we have mentioned to some of you. It will be at Continental Lanes at 13 mile and Gratiot on Sunday November 23rd at 2:00 pm. If you would like to come out and have some fun bowling, give one of us a call or send an e-mail and we will get you registered.

Our training is still going well, despite some minor (hopefully) aches and pains we have been experiencing. Stephanie is up to 7 miles on Saturday mornings, and Josh is up to 12, plus the 4 other training days we are both doing ouir best to fit in throughout the week.

Update 12-23-08:

Sorry it's been so long since we updated our page. We have been busy training and spent a week in the caribbean on a cruise. The vacation was awesome but now we're back to reality in cold snowy Michigan. Training is going really well. Josh ran his longest traning run last week: 20 miles in the freezing cold. Stephanie did a 11 mile walk a few weeks ago. She is having issues with blisters but will be ready for the big day in January. Thanks to all of you we have almost met our fundraising goal. We raised over $1600 at our bowling fundraiser in November and are now only $500 from our goal!

Thanks again to everyone that continues to encourage and support us, thanks to you we are well on our way to meeting our fundraising goal. We still have some work to do though, so please feel free to pass along word of our website to anyone you think might be interested in contributing to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Merry Christmas!!