It's not a secret that I am running, in part, for Jan Giesa. Jan is currently in remission after an aggressive course of chemo to treat non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Since TNT works to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (which works to eradicate blood cancers), it made sense to run for someone who had successfully battled a blood cancer. Her treatments were the result of years of advancement and research, funded in large part by the efforts of TNT participants like me, who have raised $850 million in 20 years.
The treatments, medicines, and therapies LLS has created through the years have helped significantly in the battle against other cancers as well. So, I am also running for my Aunt Alice Haave, who successfully battled breast cancer a few years ago; and for Kitty Janssen, a sassy lady who also beat breast cancer in the last few years; and for my sisters Jennifer and Wendy who have taken on and beaten cervical cancer. I am also running for my late grandmother Mary Lesniewski, who passed away after a battle with breast and brain cancer and for my Aunt Shirley Lesniewski, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer.
I don't know anyone who hasn't been touched by some kind of cancer. When you donate towards my $4,000 goal, I'll gladly run for your family, friends, and loved ones as well.
Showing posts with label blood cancers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blood cancers. Show all posts
Friday, June 13, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
The Mission--Step Up
Most of my posts have been about running, but I am not just running to be a runner, get in shape, complete a half marathon, get smaller thighs and flatter abs, etc. I'm running and training to raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma Research.
Leukemia and Lymphoma encompass a broad range of blood cancers. My training for the half is with Team-in-Training (TNT), which has raised over $850 million in the last 20 years for blood cancer research, financial aid for cancer patients, cancer patient support, clinical trials, and many other things. This year, TNT is hoping to hit the $1 billion mark. Think about it. $1 billion. That $1 billion ($1,000,000,000) has and will be raised by individuals who have decided to train for endurance events and donate their efforts and time to seek donations. These are people writing letters to friends, having bake sales, and telling everyone they know about the cause. These people get rejected in their solicitations, but they keep going, as the cause is a worthy one.
I am one of those people. I have to raise $4,000 by October 6 to be able to run the Nike Women's Half-Marathon, which I have been training for for almost 4 weeks. If I don't raise the money, I have two options--quit or pay the remainder myself. If I quit, I will still have gotten good training, raised some money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and tried. I have already donated $114 towards my own goal. I don't want to work and quit.
I know that solicitations for money are unpleasant, but I'm not asking you to fund my Nordstrom habit or to buy me a gift. I'm asking you to help end blood cancers. The government is not doing as much as it should or could to end them, so individuals have to step up. Any donation helps. You even get a tax deduction for making the donation, because the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is a non-profit organization.
So give up your latte today, skip lunch out, avoid the MAC counter, have one less martini and make a donation. I'll even send you a stamped, self-addressed envelope in case you want to send a check, money order, or cash--just let me know.
Donations in check/money order form should be made payable to: LLS. Give them to me, and I'll send them to the right place (you'll get a receipt mailed to you for tax purposes). Or, go to my fundraising page (second link on the right) and donate using your bank card or credit card (and you'll get an immediate receipt).
If you have questions, shoot me an email: rlhaynes@reedgiesa.com. If you want to read more about the cause and program, check out the Team in Training and LLS links to the right. Also, check out my first blog entry about why I am running--more great info on the program.
Leukemia and Lymphoma encompass a broad range of blood cancers. My training for the half is with Team-in-Training (TNT), which has raised over $850 million in the last 20 years for blood cancer research, financial aid for cancer patients, cancer patient support, clinical trials, and many other things. This year, TNT is hoping to hit the $1 billion mark. Think about it. $1 billion. That $1 billion ($1,000,000,000) has and will be raised by individuals who have decided to train for endurance events and donate their efforts and time to seek donations. These are people writing letters to friends, having bake sales, and telling everyone they know about the cause. These people get rejected in their solicitations, but they keep going, as the cause is a worthy one.
I am one of those people. I have to raise $4,000 by October 6 to be able to run the Nike Women's Half-Marathon, which I have been training for for almost 4 weeks. If I don't raise the money, I have two options--quit or pay the remainder myself. If I quit, I will still have gotten good training, raised some money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and tried. I have already donated $114 towards my own goal. I don't want to work and quit.
I know that solicitations for money are unpleasant, but I'm not asking you to fund my Nordstrom habit or to buy me a gift. I'm asking you to help end blood cancers. The government is not doing as much as it should or could to end them, so individuals have to step up. Any donation helps. You even get a tax deduction for making the donation, because the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is a non-profit organization.
So give up your latte today, skip lunch out, avoid the MAC counter, have one less martini and make a donation. I'll even send you a stamped, self-addressed envelope in case you want to send a check, money order, or cash--just let me know.
Donations in check/money order form should be made payable to: LLS. Give them to me, and I'll send them to the right place (you'll get a receipt mailed to you for tax purposes). Or, go to my fundraising page (second link on the right) and donate using your bank card or credit card (and you'll get an immediate receipt).
If you have questions, shoot me an email: rlhaynes@reedgiesa.com. If you want to read more about the cause and program, check out the Team in Training and LLS links to the right. Also, check out my first blog entry about why I am running--more great info on the program.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Three Weeks Down, and I end in stitches...
Truly I did not end my run today all stitched up--I actually ended up with a side stitch. I'm fairly certain it's a combination of starting out too fast and wearing too much clothing while running. As has been a theme of these posts, my type-A+ personality really interferes with my ability to do things at which I am not good. As I am a very new runner, I have a hard time recognizing that right now, this is my pace, and it will only improve with time and effort. I didn't expect to be setting world records, but I had hope to be a bit faster.
That said, I have finished all my runs (save number 13), and from May 11, 2008 through today, I ran for a total of 7 hours, 13 minutes, and 51 seconds. This is considerably more time* than I will spend running the half-marathon course in October.
Back to the stitch--I don't think I've ever quite experienced that stabbing/can't breathe sensation that a side stitch brings. Thanks to a teammate (that I don't yet know by name) and my mentor, Marianne, for stopping to help me get my breath and get back running. Next week, I'll try to start out slower and dress more appropriately for the weather.
Finally, in three weeks, I have raised $535** towards my goal of $4,000. I really appreciate everyone who has donated so far. I've gotten a couple of apology notes with some donations from people saying they were sorry that they couldn't donate more. Please don't apologize--every donation of every size helps towards the goal of curing blood cancers.
* I certainly hope that I will be running the half-marathon in under 7 hours!
** Donations can take a few weeks to show up on my fundraising page (located here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/nikesf08/rhaynes, so the total there is not always accurate to date).
That said, I have finished all my runs (save number 13), and from May 11, 2008 through today, I ran for a total of 7 hours, 13 minutes, and 51 seconds. This is considerably more time* than I will spend running the half-marathon course in October.
Back to the stitch--I don't think I've ever quite experienced that stabbing/can't breathe sensation that a side stitch brings. Thanks to a teammate (that I don't yet know by name) and my mentor, Marianne, for stopping to help me get my breath and get back running. Next week, I'll try to start out slower and dress more appropriately for the weather.
Finally, in three weeks, I have raised $535** towards my goal of $4,000. I really appreciate everyone who has donated so far. I've gotten a couple of apology notes with some donations from people saying they were sorry that they couldn't donate more. Please don't apologize--every donation of every size helps towards the goal of curing blood cancers.
* I certainly hope that I will be running the half-marathon in under 7 hours!
** Donations can take a few weeks to show up on my fundraising page (located here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/nikesf08/rhaynes, so the total there is not always accurate to date).
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