Shell yeah, I'm still crabby about cancer!

But I'm not crabby at all, not in the least, about the generous people who donated nearly $6,600 for the cause of defeating blood cancers! And I am not crabby at all about completing my sixth Team in Training event, the Crawlin' Crab Half Marathon in Hampton, VA on October 6! No, my hair was not purple the day of the race - I missed that mark by less than 200 dollars. But within two days of getting back, a very generous coworker closed the fundraising gap to get me to my goal!

Want to read about the race and see more photos? Here are some links:

Inspiration Dinner - The Inspiration Dinner the night before the race is always a special time, and this one more so than ever while we remember Ed Stone - husband, brother, son, friend, teammate, and inspiration - the night before what would have been his 44th birthday.

Pre-Race - The hour or so leading up to the race always produces a few butterflies, a few cheers, and a lot of good memories shared with our teammates, who have all worked so hard to this day.

A Shell of a Good Time - What more can one say about this very fun race, other than it was hot enough to steam crabs!

Thanks again, everyone, for the great support during another fabulous Team in Training event for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

It seems that I always have rumors swirling around when I do Team in Training. Am I quitting TNT? Does my incredible athletic ability mean I am on performance enhancing drugs, and if so, am I changing my name to Lance Artstrong? Did I really run my first marathon at the Battle of Bull Run? Check out the latest batch of rumors here.

MY HONOREES: A big reason that I do these events is to honor those who have, have had, or have died from various cancers. You can see my honoree list for the Crawlin' Crab Half Marathon at this URL.

Older Campaign Updates:

What if Our Bodies Worked Like Congress Does?

The Nashville Girl with Leukemia

Why Guys My Age Shouldn't Try to Keep up with Younger Runners

My Future World Record Marathon

The One's Who are Gone / Ann's Rainbow

Why I am Doing the Crawlin' Crab for Team in Training

Yes indeed, I've been feeling really, really crabby about cancer lately!

But when I think of my friends and family members lost to cancer over the past few years, and those who are enduring cancer now, I'm not just crabby - I'm steamed! It's time to come out of my shell and do another race for the cure. A cure can only come with time and money - lots of money. So won't you join me, and help pinch cancer where it hurts? No one can afford to be a hermit when it comes to the war on cancer!

This will be my sixth Team In Training event to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), and unlike the other five races, this time, I'll be staying close to home. I'll be walking the Crawlin' Crab Half-Marathon in Hampton, Virginia on October 6. If my sore knee improves, I'll run some of it. I chose this particular race to honor the memory of an incrEDible man, my friend and TNT teammate Ed Stone, on what would have been his 44th birthday. Ed lost his 24 year fight with cancer - starting with leukemia at age 19 - this past January. He was an upbeat, inspirational, dedicated, and courageous cancer warrior, and I can't think of a better way to honor his memory. I have two other special memorial honorees for this race, my friends Judy Zettel and Faith Eury. Judy (lower left) died in January, 2011 from myeloma and leukemia, and Faith (lower right) died in February, 2012 from Hodgkin's lymphoma. All three of these fine people were affected terribly by blood cancers, and all three left this world very much too soon. On October 6, I will be walking (and perhaps running) 13.1 miles with their photos on my race shirt.

To see my full list of honorees for 2013, please go to this link.

Did you know that EVERY 10 MINUTES someone in the United States dies from a blood cancer? Without cancer research, I would have been one of them. Instead, 11 years after being so ill, I'm racing for a cure again with Team in Training. I am using my gratitude for being a survivor to do something about blood cancer! You can read about my cancer story here.

The mission of LLS is to help find cures and more effective treatments for blood cancers, and to provide support to blood cancer patients. It is a difficult and expensive goal, and I want to help and do my part. Like the other members of TNT, I will be raising funds to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. One donation at a time, just as little raindrops turn into raging rivers, we can raise the money that will sweep incurable cancers away.

Please make a donation to join me in helping to advance the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's mission. If you make a donation and want to honor or memorialize a loved one who has or has had any type of cancer, E-mail their name to me, and I will write their name on my race singlet. If you would rather make a donation by check instead of an online contribution, please e-mail me using the link above and I will get you the easy instructions on how to do so.

Thank you for your support of my 2013 Cancer Kickin' Campaign for the Crawlin' Crab Half Marathon as we attempt to send "Cancer the Crab" crawlin' away into oblivion.

For campaign updates, please see my blog, "Racing for a Cure."

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." == Theodore Roosevelt