Team In Training (TNT)

Every once in a while, I get these flyers in the mail advertising Team in Training, showing pictures of people in purple shirts smiling and running. I would always take a quick look and them toss it. But when I received the latest one back in October, I gave it a second look. Running a marathon is something I've been wanting to work towards for a while now. I've done a few 10k's and a couple 12k's since moving to the bay area, but my speed and athleticism have declined a bit since I graduated college. When I was doing track and cross country, I had people to push me and to work together with, and I really miss that. So I decided to go to the informational meeting they were having. It took only 10 minutes in the meeting to convince me. Not only would I be able to train with a team again and feel that sense of accomplishment of finishing my marathon, but I would be helping save lives along the way.

See, Team in Training is an organization that raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). It provides support for research and treatments, helping people with blood cancers such as Leukemia, Myeloma and Hodgkins disease. We call these people our honorees, and we even have a few who have recovered and are now training with us as a way of showing their appreciation.

Here's how it works: You first sign up for a team. There is a running team, run/walk team, ski team, triathlon team, and a cycling team. (I signed up with the run team). There is an initial cost to join, but then you raise the rest of the money through fundraising and there is a minimum amount you need to raise to do your event. My event is the Oakland Marathon on March 27th and my minimum to raise is $2,000. They encourage you to shoot higher than the minimum, so I put $3,000 as my goal. That seems like a lot of money, though, so I'll be happy with $2,000.

I sent a letter out to probably all of you who are reading this, and if you have any fundraising ideas for me, please let me know. Also, I would love it if you would spread the word around to anyone you know. I've been trainging very hard, so far, and I'm having a blast and already making new friends. If you are unable to donate, please don't feel obligated. I appreciate your warm words and thoughts. But please tell your friends!

For donations, go to my fundraising page http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/Oakland10/rmarshajsr

Also, you can help by purchasing Mary Kay products. All of my profits from now until March 27th will go towards TNT. To order online, go to my personal MK page
http://marykay.com/bjmarshall

Both of these links are on my blog page as well.