Hi Everyone!

Thanks for looking at my Team in Training Fundraising page. As a lot of you know, I have a bit of a history with Team in Training, having completed three events since 2009, and being a mentor twice with the Alabama / Gulf Coast Chapter. Then I moved to beautiful Madison, Wisconsin and found a new Team in Training family here. I am now a TNT Cycling Coach and am preparing to take a team to Lake Tahoe to complete America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride, a 100 mile ride around the lake. Then, I'll start coaching a new team for the Door County Century ride in September.

This year, in addition to coaching, I have decided to do something new and exciting. Run my first marathon. Ok, technically, I have run a marathon before, but the only one I have done was after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride when I finished Ironman Wisconsin, but that doesn't really count. So, I'm going to do the Chicago Marathon October 13. 2013. Yep, I'll be a coach with the cyclists and a participant with the runners. Why? Because I like a challenge. And I'm asking for your help.

People often ask what it is I love about Team in Training. It's many things. It's making friends that last a lifetime. It's training to do things I never thought I could do. It's helping others reach their goals and help them accomplish things they once thought were impossible. But mostly, it's the mission. The mission to raise money to fight blood cancers. The mission to help find a cure. Whenever we talk about cancer, we always use the same word. Someday. Someday they’ll be a cure. Someday we won’t lose the people we love. But when is someday? Someday is today. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has invested nearly one billion dollars to accelerate cancer treatments once thought impossible. In 1964, the five-year survival rate for the most common childhood Leukemia was 3%. Today it is 90%. We make a difference. You can make a difference.

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

There is another reason that I have chosen the Chicago Marathon this year to be my first stand alone marathon. In January of this year, I lost a friend, training partner, co-worker, and all around wonderful human being. Her name was Jenny Boyce. She was brutally murdered by her estranged husband the day before the court date for her divorce. He then committed suicide. Jenny always tried to "Be the change". Her last endurance event was the Chicago Marathon last year. She ran that race through a charity fund rasing program because she wanted to "Be the change." Several of her friends have decided to honor her memory by running the last race she ran. I have decided to do it the same way she did. Raising money for a cause dear to me in order to "Be the Change."

Because I'm always one for a challenge, and it's all in good fun, let's see who can donate more, my Alabama friends, or my Wisconsin friends. This is the face off: Midwestern down home goodness vs. Southern Hospitality. SEC vs Big 10; Fried Gulf Shrimp vs. Fried Cheese Curds. Every dollar counts as one vote. Who will win?

I haven't decided what the winning state will get, but I'm open to ideas and suggestions. Cast your votes with your donations, and let's see what happens!!