SIX SISTERS STRIDING FOR A CURE for NANCY!

Team Nancy crossed the finish line in an amazing feat I never thought I would witness. I am so proud of my sisters and thank them from the bottom of my heart. Thank each and everyone one of you for your support. We couldn't have done it without you! Here's my speech shared with a crowd of 8,000 plus at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

My honor tonight is to be honoring all of you by sharing my journey. I think it’s safe to say everyone of us in this room has been on an incredible journey. As a Team In Training participant, mentor, honoree, survivor or family member, you all have accomplished so much. YOU need to be proud of your own journey and what you have accomplished! Do not lose sight of that - ever!

Nine years ago I sat in your seat and couldn’t believe I made it through months of training and fundraising but I did and so have YOU! This was my first experience with TNT and my first marathon ever but little did I know it would NOT be my last. Team In Training provided me and continues to provide me with a winning formula of inspiration & motivation mixed with lots personal growth. I am pleased to report that this year’s Nike Women’s Marathon and Half Marathon will be my 14th race as a Team In Training participant and my 5th Nike Women’s Marathon thanks to a supportive family backing me every step of the way – thank you Geoff and Devan. ((and have raised over $160,000 as a TNT volunteer)

I was always intrigued by marathons as I watched a friend race her heart out to make the Olympic Trials – not once, but twice. She was an elite runner. I thought only runners with single digit body fat % and who were extremely fast did marathons. So for me to entertain this notion of a marathon was crazy: Me and marathons didn’t seem to fit in the same sentence.

The seed was planted with my friend doing marathons but it was motherhood that made it sprout. I was a new mom with a healthy baby girl and really wanted to get back into shape and be a good role model for my family. As if planned, the mail came that same day and I received a Team In Training brochure. On the cover was a man running with a toddler on his shoulders and the toddler was bald. Immediately, it caught my attention. I read the brochure and soon learned that leukemia was the #1 cancer killer among children 0-15. I had no connection to blood cancer but as a new mom, I just couldn't imagine and found that statistic unacceptable. My daughter was the inspiration I needed and was I hooked. I found the motivation I needed to move my body into high gear – racing for a cure seemed more than fitting abd the stars had aligned.

I finished my first marathon – successfully I might add and so will you - in 2001. In 2002, I participated in another TNT marathon. Then in 2003, we got the phone call… Cancer had hit my family. My sister Nancy was diagnosed with non Hodgkin's lymphoma in her brain. To hear this after nearly 3 years doing TNT with no personal connection to blood cancer the devasting news seemed surreal. All cancer is bad but this one was particularly bad given the location. Doctors hid their skepticism that she’d make it. But she did! Nancy’s incredible will, spirit, attitude and optimism surrounded by a sea of loving family and friends that cared for her every step of the way, provided the right PSX to get her through this tough time. She endured 7 months of IV Chemo and a new procedure that dripped chemo directly into her brain followed by cranial radiation. Her memory was weary from all the treatment but her heart remained strong …...........until it was broken. Her husband left her but her family and friends did not. We never left Nancy's side.

In 2008, she joined me, my husband and daughter in San Francisco for this incredible event known as the Nike Women's Marathon. We celebrated her five year anniversary of being cancer free. It was a huge milestone for Nancy and for our family – Anyone with cancer knows each day is a gift and knows the value of life which is why we are all here today fighting for those who can't.

We celebrated Nancy as a survivor all weekend long. She was so happy among the sea of purple! She was always reluctant to bring attention to herself and Nancy never referred to herself as a survivor - until that weekend. She introduced herself over and over by saying: “Hi, I’m Nancy and I’M A SURVIVOR.” She felt safe among “her tribe”. We crossed the finish line together (actually I snuck her across in a feat I doubt I could ever repeat and one that Nike race officials don’t want to hear). With hands held high, we were victorious! …… Sadly, our celebration was short lived. We lost our Nancy last June to blood cancer. She fought so hard and truly believed she would kick this disease. But we thought we were going to lose right after her diagnosis and we were given a gift of six years with her. I believe it was our collective efforts – here in this room – that gave her six more years because of the research we are funding and being made possible by the LLS. WE, you and me, are making a difference in the lives of others. And I still believe that.

Nancy's hope was to inspire and boy has she. Sisters Debbie, Barbie, Kathy, Pam, Tam and Tracey formed Team Nancy: SIX SISTERS STRIDING FOR A CURE for the 7th sister we lost. Some of my sisters have never walked more than a couple of miles - ever! Now they are getting ready to do a half marathon – just like many of you! During the months of training, they would text me to report on their miles covered - all of them training as part of Virtual TNT. They had a team but rarely training partner so they often trained alone. That didn’t bother them because they were so excited of their own accomplishments. To give you an idea how far some of them have come - One sister had bowling as her cardio sport of choice and finally realized that water bottles were needed to hydrate the body while training, not to water plants and that Dri Fit was a technical fabric and not a state of mind. But the same sister was so nervous about her 11 miler that she couldn't sleep so she got up at 4 am and trained the first two hours in the dark and by herself. She finally saw the light… Another sister said that whenever you are feeling helpless, TNT makes you feel hopeful. On the fundraising front, our story has been shared in the office buildings of Kansas City, KS, on hospital floors of Charlotte, NC, at football games in Hayesville, NC and Daleville, VA and Dine Out events in Gainesville, VA and let's not forget Portland, Oregon! Now home to Prevale Ale, named in memory of Nancy and the efforts of LLS. My 83 year old mother, matriarch of Team Nancy, even got in on the action, shaking the trees at her retirement home and getting her friends loaded up in a van to go to a fundraiser held by yet another sister. So as you can see, Nancy has inspired, moved mountains and but most importantly, moved her entire family into action including her sisters, brothers, mother, cousins and in-laws and has embodied the true essence of what is Team In Training. As Team Nancy has proven, there is no “I” in Team.

We are not the only sister story impacted by this disease. By sharing our Team Nancy story, we learned there are other sister stories out there. This was one of the many comments on our Team Nancy fundraising page:

"Team Nancy - I am one of 4 sisters, also running in the Nike Women's Marathon for TNT, in memory of my sister Katharine, who passed away on Oct. 17th in 2008, at the age of 21, from leukemia. I cannot wait to meet you all, and admire so very much your determination and goal. Good luck with all the rest of your fundraising and training! And see you in October! To sisters, sincerely, Susannah Eckman"...Thank you Susannah

As I mentioned earlier, this is one of a dozen events for me and I have to say, it has been one of the most powerful and magical ones. My sisters have pushed themselves further than ever before, physically and mentally. One sister wrote to me thanking me for getting her involved in Team In Training, for pushing her out of her comfort zone and introducing her to something so wonderful! Sometimes it's hard to put into words what all of us are experiencing but once it bites you, lockjaw seems to set in and in this case, that's a really good thing. We aren't sitting idle folks, we are saving lives. We ARE ordinary people do extraordinary things.

And we ALL are winners. To those first timers out there, you WILL be able to do it. If you find yourself struggling on the race course tomorrow, think of Nancy and Katharine and all those incredible heroes out there. Think of your own journey how far you have come.

To quote my favorite author: John “The Penguin” Bingham...

"Believe you can run (or walk) farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough,

old enough, strong enough to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself."

Our work doesn't end after we walk off that race course Sunday. Every one of us in this room has the power to make a difference. We made a difference in my sister's life by giving her six more years to live – which would not have happened had LLS not funded the research to advance her treatment. But what we all are working for is our future: my daughter, your daughter - our children and grandchildren’s future. Let's give them the gift of life, quality of life and a world without cancer. When I race, my mantra (as is John’s) is “no need for speed” but when it comes to finding a cure – it MUST be “Need for Speed!”

To give you added inspiration on the race course tomorrow, please sit back and watch this 3 minute video that demonstrates the power of Team In Training and showers you with pure home grown love that is: TEAM NANCY

In Memory of Nancy Driscoll

October 14, 1952 - June 22, 2009

We love and miss you sis!