‘Twas the night before Nike and all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, not even my spouse.

My Asics and Thorlos placed by the front door with care,

In hopes that a PR soon will be there.

Down by 8:30pm, nestled all snug in my bed,

While visions of tuxedo-ed firemen dance through my head.

Lap top open, staring at the course map,

I know I’ll need at least an 8-10 hour nap.

Alarm will go off at 5am with such a clatter,

Time to focus and minimize the internal chatter.

Peanut butter toast and banana eaten in a flash,

Get to the starting line, time to cut the sash.

The rising sun will light Union Square,

5 months of training, we know how to prepare.

Then, to the crowd’s wondering eyes, what should appear?

Our purple-clad Team Driven, led by Belle’s booty-shorted rear.

In a flash we’ll be off- we know what to do,

Take a deep breath, stay hydrated, and swallow some Gu.

As we each settle into the pace we have found,

Down the Great Highway we’ll run with a bound.

Now Laura! Now Kate! Now Geri and Sammie!

On Jennette! On Emily! On Jessica and Sandi!

To the top of each incline, Keisha will beam,

“East Bay Rocks! No Wimps! LET’S GO TEAM!”

26.2 miles is nothing compared to what we are really here for,

Our honorees are the true heroes; I wish I could do more.

For everyone with blood cancer, all those battling and surviving,

It is for YOU that I run this marathon, and promise to keep on striving.

Be it sunny, windy, snowing or raining,

I won’t mind as these miles are all for Team in Training.

And on race day, in my head, Coach Al’s voice will ring:

“It’s mind over matter- just Do The Damn Thing.”

To help reach my goal, I am holding the Mother of all Raffles for LLS! Visit my blog to check out all the neat prizes- and there are a ton!

CLICK HERE:

http://running4thereason.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/mother-of-all-raffles-2/

$5 = one entry

$10 = 2 entries

$15 = 3 entries

$20 = 4 entries

If you donate $25-$99, you will receive matching entries per dollar donation, so for $25 you get 25 entries, for $38 you get 38 entries, and so on. For a donation of $100 or more, you get double entries, so $100 = 200 entries, $125 = 250 entries.

If you have already donated, donate once more (any amount) and you get matching entries for this donation PLUS your previous donation.

I’ll also give bonus entries on top of your initial donation if you share this raffle with the world! Facebook, your blog, Dailymile, etc. Every time you share, leave a new comment on my blog (or email me at running4thereason@hotmail.com) and you will get an extra entry. One more bonus entry if you “like” my page on Facebook- just leave a comment letting me know you did.

Entries will be accepted until midnight on September 29th and winners will be announced October 1st. All tickets will be entered in the order that they are received into the Mother of all Spreadsheets. Winners will be chosen by Random.org and notified via email as well as my blog.

Remember, this is for a very good cause! With your help, we can find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and help improve the quality of life for patients and their families. And hopefully, one day, the need for fundraisers like this will be nonexistent!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Just 6 weeks until my first marathon and exactly 3 weeks left to meet my fundraising goal- I've certainly come a long way since training started in May. I've run 200 miles to date and raised close to $2000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society but have just 21 days to raise $500 more. Here are just a few reasons why LLS needs support from incredible individuals such as you to continue improving and saving lives…

* In 1960 the survival rate for childhood leukemia was 4%. Today, that survival rate has risen to over 85%.

* From 1975 – 2005 the number of leukemia patients has doubled and the number of lymphoma patients has tripled.

* Today, more than 950,000 Americans (that’s only Americans, not world-wide) are living with a blood cancer.

* Every four minutes someone hears the words: YOU have leukemia, or YOU have lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease or myeloma….

* Every ten minutes, someone loses the battle to a blood cancer.

Like Coach Al says- let's do the damn thing! Help patients live better lives, help me meet my goal and get me to that 26.2! Thank you!

Why should you donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society? Because unlike commercial enterprises that consider blood cancers "orphan diseases" with small markets and limited profit potential, LLS funds research based on medical need without regard to commercial return or market size. Every dollar invested comes from charitable support from concerned donors.

I could run any marathon and NOT fundraise but I really want to help stop leukemia, lymphoma and other cancers from taking more lives- to do this, I need your help.

I am hosting a Happy Hour Fundraising event at the Sports Basement in Walnut Creek on August 13th from 3pm-5pm in order to achieve my fundraising goal of $1800- I hope you can join me!

If you cannot make it to the event, please donate anything you can! If you prefer to write a check, make it payable to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and send it back to addressed to Laura Moir, 825 41st Street, Oakland, CA 94608.

And remember: your contribution is 100% tax deductable and 75% of proceeds go directly to promoting continuous research, patient assistance, support systems and ultimately help fund a cure for these devastating diseases.

Thank you and GO TEAM!!!!

To get updates on my progress, as well as read more about my commitment to Team in Training, please visit my blog, subscribe and comment! I look forward to hearing from you and, on behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, thank you very much for your support.

http://running4thereason.wordpress.com/