This is going to be a very exciting, exhausting, challenging and exhilarating summer for me! I have given to various charities before, but I have never been as physically involved in the support process as I am going to be this time. This year, I have committed to raising support for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by running a 26.2-mile marathon in San Francisco on October 24th.

After watching my sister-in-law participate in a Team in Training (TnT) event last year, I wanted to see how I could help. TnT provides volunteers with training for athletic endurance events to raise support for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I have been inspired by the vision that the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has for curing cancer, and so I have taken the plunge into training for a marathon!

If you are not familiar with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, let me share a few quick facts about their mission and passion with you:

* The society is a national voluntary health agency dedicated to curing leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and to improving the quality of life of patients and their families by funding research, patient services, and education
* An estimated 670,950 Americans currently have blood cancer
* Every nine minutes someone dies of blood cancer-an estimated 57,500 in 2004
* In 1960, the survival rate for children with leukemia was 4%, today, thanks to research supported by programs like Team in Training, the survival rate has increased to 85%

I am encouraged by the progress that has been made over the years towards finding a cure for these deadly diseases. I know that running a marathon is a small thing compared to the long struggle that cancer patients face, however, I hope that through it, I will better understand the courage that they show every day they choose to fight. I also hope that you will join me in supporting the research that enables that fight.

My goal is to raise $3,700 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society before October 1st. Every donation, no matter how small, makes a difference and saves lives. Team in Training is dedicated to ensuring that 75% of every dollar contributed goes towards their mission.

In order to help make this more personal, I have decided to run in honor of a close family friend that has recently been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Since that diagnosis in November, Joan has undergone radiation treatment. She is done with her treatments, and is officially in regression, but the road ahead of her is still a long one. I hope that the money we raise will bring us closer to making that road an easier one for those that travel it behind her. I will wear a bracelet in her honor while I train and on the day I race as a reminder of that goal.

I know that you have probably seen a friend or family member diagnosed with cancer. I would like to honor each one of those loved ones as well. If you like, please send me their name with your donation, and I will write each name on my jersey. On October 24^th, I will run for each one of those people to signify that we will continue to fight for the cure that, one day, God-willing, we will find.

Thank you in advance for your willingness to help out. Your contribution is greatly appreciated, and is 100% tax deductible.

I will keep you posted with updates as to how my training is going! If you’d like to keep up with updates on my training, I’ll be keeping a running log on the web. To visit the site, point your web browser at www.kennsarah.net/26.2.

If you would like to make a donation now, please visit the donations page.