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Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

If we haven't yet met, let me introduce myself. I'm Dave Eckberg and I have chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). I've had the disease for seven years now and and am happy to tell you that I'm doing pretty well right now, all things considered. Many people who get this disease never have the opportunity to say that, as they die a few years after getting their diagnosis. However, I've been fortunate to have been able to receive three different courses of therapy over the last seven years, including an experimental, six month long combination of drugs that I completed last year. I'm in remission again, but I've been there before. I expect my disease to return again, but I'm going to enjoy life while I can.

I've been part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training (TNT) for three years, in the role of an Honored Hero, as survivors and folks with the disease are called within the team. I've accompanied the team as they've worked out and raised money to help folks like me. The money they have raised supports research into treatments and possible cures for leukemias and lymphomas. The LLS supports over 400 researchers worldwide. I've been proud to be part of such a wonderful group of folks, who are not only fun to be around but are doing such wonderful things for the LLS.

After I finished my six months of treatment last year, and as I was recovering, I decided I should take a more active role in the group and decided I probably could do some events as well...with a little time and a lot of training. So I began walking around our neighborhood; first I walked short distances, a half mile, then gradually farther and farther until I was walking more than three miles at a time.

About this time the local TNT organization sponsored an event which included a 5K "run," which I figured I should be able to do since that was about three miles and I was doing that far just around the neighborhood. So I signed up and did my first TNT event, finishing the "run" (which I almost completely walked) in about 46 minutes, about twice as long as one of the kids in the race took. But I finished!

A month later the group was looking for someone to take one of five legs in the Dallas White Rock Marathon, a five mile leg. I hadn't done five miles at one time yet but figured I should be able to do it and signed on. Above you saw a picture of me finishing my five miles. I'm the old guy on the right. Andrew, the young guy on the left, walked my leg with me and had done 15 miles by this time, and then went on to do the whole marathon!

So now I've decided to do another event, a half marathon. I haven't walked as far as a half marathon (13.1 miles) in many years, probably decades, but I'm going to train for it and hope to finish my event on May 17th.

To do this event as a member of TNT I've committed to raising at least $2000 and if you can help me reach that goal, or even more, I would be very grateful. I'll be out each week, training for this event and will be doing my best to complete it on May 17th. But I'll need your help to reach my fundraising goal.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Dave