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An Amazing Race

October 18th was one of the most amazing, inspiring, gorgeous days ever - the San Francisco course was stunning, with views of the Bay at each hill (mountain) crest making the run uphill completely worth it, TNT's NYC and BROOKLYN team and coaches were kick-ass as always with everyone completing her/his race and celebrating with a (somewhat gimpy) dance party, my family was there to celebrate my race and honor my beautiful mother, who I thought of often during the race and whose memory pushed me to finish and have a truly wonderful time, and, most importantly, over $14 MILLION was raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Thank you, again, and always, to everyone who supported me and this amazing cause, and for all of your good luck wishes race weekend. I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.

Next up - New Jersey FULL Marathon training AND mentoring. We're signing people up for the TNT Spring season, including the NJ race and races in Vancouver and Paris. Visit http://www.teamintraining.org/nyc/ for more information.

RACE DAY IS ALMOST HERE!

After an amazing training (and racing) season, race day is THIS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18th in San Francisco. Thanks to everyone's generosity, I met my fundraising goal a while ago, but you can still contribute to the fight against leukemia and other blood cancers. The NY chapter has raised almost $500,000 from the fundraising for this race alone.

Making this weekend even more amazing, my grandmother, aunts, and stepdad will be in San Francisco as well - supporting me and in honor of my mother.

I'm back to running the Half-Marathon due to end of the season knee and immune system issues, but will begin training for the New Jersey May 2nd FULL marathon when I get back from San Francisco - as a TNT Mentor to other runners on the Brooklyn team.

August 16th NYC Half-Marathon

Thanks to the generosity of my amazing friends and family, I have won a spot on the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society team in the NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday, August 16th. If all goes well, everyone's contributions are now to support my running a FULL marathon in October. Thank you and first half-marathon update to come!

Running to Save Lives

I'm training for a half-marathon for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training. I am doing this to challenge myself, to get in great shape, to take up time that was spent drinking (so I have A LOT of extra time), but mostly, to honor my mother, Yvette Wood, who died of leukemia in 1990. She was 33 years old; I was 11.

My mom was diagnosed with leukemia not long after marrying my step-dad, Richard Wood, after years of raising me as a single working mother, and died within a year of her diagnosis. She endured in that year hellish rounds of chemotherapy, numerous painful tests and months of undiagnosed illness, and yet she still raised me, moved into a new house, rode horses, amassed a great collection of bright scarves, loved and was greatly loved by her husband, her family, my father's family, her many friends, their children, our rescued dogs, and a vicious cat. I loved her more than anything and still think about her all the time. Considering what she went through and the person that she was and would want me to be, the least I can do is push myself to run a half-marathon to raise money to fight leukemia and other blood cancers.

Team In Training is an endurance sports training program raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through donations and sponsorships from its participants' friends, families, and colleagues. It is your donations that fund The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. LLS has invested more than $600 million in research since 1949 - over $71 million in 2008 - specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. As a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training Program, I will be raising money for LLS by participating in the Nike Women's Half-Marathon in San Francisco on October 18, 2009 and need to raise $3900; my goal is to raise even more than that with your very generous help.

Your donation will not only help save lives and fund important research that can benefit defeating all types of cancer; it will also fund programs that provide support for patients and their families during what feels like an impossible time.

Your donation also honors the memory of my brave, fiercely protective, loyal, hot-tempered, animal-saving, kind, sharp-tongued, beautiful, amazing mother.

Thank you so much,

Christy