I joined Team In Training (TNT) in 2012, when I decided I wanted to train and run my first half marathon. Some of my friends had told me about their success with the program, and while I didn't have a personal connection to The Leukemia & Lymphoma (LLS), it was obviously a worthy cause and I felt I could handle the fundraising aspect.
In 2015, our identical twin daughters, Kenedi and Kendal, were diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at three months old. After a brutal six months of living in isolation with them in one room at the hospital, the twins were released off treatment and in remission. We enjoyed 12 months of at home as a family of five, we were devastated to learn Kendal relapsed.
In November of 2004, I was in the very best shape of my life. A few months prior, I had run my fastest marathon in San Diego, beating out all of my previous six finishing times in Austin, Nashville, Dallas, New York, and Boston. One month prior, I had completed the Los Angeles triathlon, finishing in the top bracket in my age division.
I remember diagnosis clearly. I was sitting in the UCSF doctor’s office of a man I had not met before a physician I was referred to. I had first gone to a doctor on my Blue Cross Insurance list, a Russian woman who said the word “lymphoma.” I was hoping the foreign word would continue to be foreign.
My warrior daughter Edie entered the world on July 30, 2016 with eyes wide open ready to soak it all in and leave behind her indelible mark. From early on, we knew we had our hands full. Our first months as new parents were filled with the usual sleepless nights and anxiety, but Edie had a special way of keeping us on our toes.
This is a love story about two Team In Training honorees, Alison and Keith. Keith has been a recreational runner for many years and first learned of Team In Training (TNT) as a fundraising sponsor for a friend.
I endured poor-prognosis acute myeloid leukemia (AML), multiple rounds of brutal chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, and an open heart surgery - all for only a small chance of survival. The journey since has been more than difficult. Lingering effects of the lifesaving treatments seem endless.
Four years ago, 53-year-old Doug was getting ready to walk in his son's wedding, but he had been recently diagnosed with gastric lymphoma and was worried about his future.
I fell in love with distance running in 2010 while training for my first marathon as a member of Team In Training, raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Since then, I have completed five full marathons and one ultra-marathon (49K). I started getting into mountain running in 2016, and aspire to run some mountain races here in Alaska, including Mount Marathon in Seward!