Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

I have some big news to share!

Believe it or not, I'm going to run the Oakland Half-Marathon in Oakland on March 28, 2010. Think I am crazy? Truth be told, you may not be so far off the mark! I'm not in really great shape! As of right now, I can't run very far or for a very long time. I will be doing the half-marathon and 13.1 miles seems like a really long way to go. I mean, really, really long (try watching your car's odometer on a trip until you hit 13.1 miles - it's far!). So, am I crazy? Well, a couple of very sane reasons are driving my decision to run:

The first is that I realized upon contemplating my New Year's resolutions, I decided I wanted to focus on two things. One is that I wanted to get into good shape and the other is that I wanted to give something to a worthy cause. I discovered an incredible opportunity to do both things at one time!

I have signed up with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training (TNT) program. Through TNT, I will not just be running for myself, but in support of an organization that is dedicated to curing lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma and improving the lives of patients and their families. In exchange for fundraising, LLS will help me train for the race, provide coaching and medical guidance, and will put me with other runners of similar skills.

Specifically, I will be running in honor of ARCELIA KEKAI, a friend of mine, who was diagnosed recently with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and also in memory of NATHANIEL I. HAMOY who passed away last November 2007 at the age of 10.

Thinking about how fortunate I am and learning about how these diseases affect families (the stories are incredible) has made one very important thing clear to me: you can never take anything for granted. Your life can change on the drop of a dime; it's important to seize the opportunity to make a difference when you can.

So here I am, seizing my opportunity. My goals are two-fold: one, to cross the finish line of the Oakland Marathon on March 28 (even if I have to crawl to do it!); and two, to raise $2,500 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I'm hoping you will be able to help me with both of these goals.

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

Thank you for your support...

As always,

Belinda Castillo