Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my latest Team In Training home page!

Yep, I am training to complete another season of endurance events as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training (TNT).

I am blessed to be able to say that in early March of this year my family and I were able to celebrate the 10th anniversary of my Mom's successful bone-marrow transplant! She is a success story!!! I hope that my efforts over the years, collecting donations from people like you while volunteering for the LLS, have helped to pay for other peoples' success stories... allowing for other families to be as blessed as they celebrate their own victories over cancer.

I am 'staying the course', personally raising funds to help the fight against blood-related cancers as I volunteer and train with the TNT program for The Society. During the past 10 years, I've completed 26 events including century rides, marathons, and triathlons while raising almost $75,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through TNT. And, it was all made possible by people like you! THANK YOU!!!

I know that the current state of the economy makes everyone feel as though there is not enough money to spend as generously as we have in previous years (unless you have a "Golden Parachute"), but consider that a patient battling the disease doesn't have the luxury of putting off treatment until after the economy recovers. THEIR NEED IS NOW! In fact, this year, they may have an increased need because their bank accounts may be tapped out. CANCER DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE!!!

This spring and summer, as a coach for the local TNT cycling team, I will help to enable our WPA/WVA teams to achieve their goal of riding the distance while raising funds for such a great cause. While coaching the cycling team this year, I have tried to keep up with the running and swimming and will compete in various running and cycling races and probably a triathlon or two - wearing my purple and green - showing my support of the TEAM.

The remainder of this spring and summer, I will be fundraising and coaching as a member of the TEAM in the America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride (June 5th) and the Moab Century Tour (September 17th). My goal is to raise over $10,000 this calendar year ($5,651 raised by 25-MAY was listed on my Winter/Spring fundraising page). This challenges me to raise over $50 for every mile that I ride during these events!

I'll be out there through the rest of this spring and summer putting in the miles in the water, on the bike and on my legs, but I need your help with the fundraising!

All of us in Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. Although my mom is the reason that I became involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I'm completing these events in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - A CURE!

Please help me honor my mom and ALL that have fought bravely against cancer... make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance the Society's mission. You can do so on-line by using the Make a Contribution area in the upper right of this web page and clicking on the <DONATE NOW> button.

Your donations will be put to great use:

$1,000 Will help The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fund a researcher to find a cure.

$500 Will provide patient aid to a person with leukemia or a related cancer for a year.

$100 Will provide a patient with transportation cost associated with traveling from home to the cancer center.

$75 Will provide bone morrow typing for a family member of a patient with leukemia.

$50 Will register one person to be a bone marrow donor.

$25 Will pay for the cost of a patient's chemotherapy drug prescription co-pay.

$ Any donation will help continue the research needed to find a cure.

I hope you'll visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress (NOTE:Check out the scale up at the top of this page). Thank YOU for your support!!!

>> Also check out www.CharityBarCrawl.com for the 8th Annual "Fill The Mug" fundraising event on Pittsburgh's South Side, Saturday, APRIL 30th, 2011!!!<<