Dear Friends and Family,

Welcome to my Team In Training home page!!

I have made the enormous decision to run my first ever full marathon, on October 9, 2011. The race I will be running is the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Maybe you've heard of it?? If you have been following me, whether in person, by blog, or by Facebook or Twitter, you may know that I have fairly recently been bit by the running bug. To date, I have completed 5 half marathons and have ran anywhere from Alabama to Detroit. Running has struck a very special chord with me and I have decided I'm ready for my next big challenge.

Not only have I registered to take on 26.2 miles, I have also signed up to do it while raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) in honor of my late grandmother, Helen Kowalczyk.

My Grandma was a very special woman, not only to me, but to everyone who had the pleasure of meeting her. She was friendly. She was passionate. She was so much fun to be around and could always make you smile. She always dreamed of owning her own convertible. She loved to dance in her kitchen, even while everyone was watching. She loved her family with all that she had. Sure, she never threw anything away and always rambled through each and every one of her grandchildren’s names before getting to the right one, but she was so very lovable. And to the very end, she was a fighter. On February 13, 2003, at the age of 74, my Grandma climbed three flights of stairs two different times just to spend time with her granddaughter on her 21st birthday. Even though she was weak and frail from chemotherapy, she wouldn’t have missed this for the world.

Two weeks later, she passed away.

My Grandma kicked cancer's butt the first time it knocked on her door, and now it's my turn to do the kicking. Too many people are losing their lives to leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma and myeloma.

I am running the Chicago Marathon in honor of all individuals who are battling or have lost their battle with blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure.

I hope you will consider making a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission. My goal is to raise $4,000.

And if you have a favorite memory of my Grandma, please please do share it with me. Nothing could motivate me more on this journey then remembrances of HPK :)

Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress as I will post updates. Thanks for your support!

Love, Briana