On The Road Again.... Vee's PledgePage
Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings everyone, I hope this letter finds you happy and well. As many of you know, I will be running the Disney World Marathon on January 11th, 2004, for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training. Why? I welcome the opportunity to take advantage of my own gift of good health to make a difference for someone else. Also, after taking almost a year off from running for Aidan’s arrival, I needed the external motivation to make this training and marathon a priority. I will be running in support of and with an “Honored Teammate”: Kristin Rooney. I’ll also be thinking about my brother’s young friend Joey who battled leukemia a few years ago, and my friend Maria whose father was recently diagnosed.
I met my teammate Kristin through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Kristin, who is 29 and a 3-year non-Hodgkin survivor, was first diagnosed in 1999 when she was 25 years old. She had surgery within two weeks of being diagnosed, then spent until March of 2000 in chemotherapy and radiation and has been in remission for three years. Kristin tells me that the experience helped her to put things into perspective and made her a stronger person. It must be true, as Kristin plans on training for and running the marathon along with the rest of the team.
Since its inception in 1949, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has awarded $207 million in research grants. At $32 million annually, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s grant program is one of the most prestigious in the fields of hematology and oncology. Team In Training is a personalized training program designed to prepare a person to complete a marathon or, with the training and coaching the society provides, to improve your time and performance. This past year, over 26,000 runners, walkers, triathletes and cyclists achieved their goals in events across the country while raising over $74 million to fight leukemia and lymphoma. The research funded by these efforts has really paid off. The overall five-year survival rate for children with leukemia is now 85%, a marked improvement from the 4% survival rate in 1961. If you would like some more information on the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, visit www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.
I have a fundraising goal of $5,000 and a personal goal to improve my personal best marathon time of 4:52 to under 4:40. None of this will be possible for me without your support and encouragement. Many of you helped me through those New York City marathons in ways you don’t even realize, especially Steve, Lauren (and now Aidan!) and Jenn through all those training miles in Central Park.
As I train over the next 4 months, knowing that you are all in it with me will help tremendously. Please become part of my team by sending a donation today; click on the donate link to the left to do so now. All donations, no matter the size, will be appreciated and will make a difference. If you feel like putting in some miles with me ... I’ll bring the water and the Power Gel and maybe even give you a turn with the jogging stroller — pushing Aidan, not sitting in it, of course!!!!
With sincere thanks,
Virginia
Greetings everyone, I hope this letter finds you happy and well. As many of you know, I will be running the Disney World Marathon on January 11th, 2004, for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training. Why? I welcome the opportunity to take advantage of my own gift of good health to make a difference for someone else. Also, after taking almost a year off from running for Aidan’s arrival, I needed the external motivation to make this training and marathon a priority. I will be running in support of and with an “Honored Teammate”: Kristin Rooney. I’ll also be thinking about my brother’s young friend Joey who battled leukemia a few years ago, and my friend Maria whose father was recently diagnosed.
I met my teammate Kristin through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Kristin, who is 29 and a 3-year non-Hodgkin survivor, was first diagnosed in 1999 when she was 25 years old. She had surgery within two weeks of being diagnosed, then spent until March of 2000 in chemotherapy and radiation and has been in remission for three years. Kristin tells me that the experience helped her to put things into perspective and made her a stronger person. It must be true, as Kristin plans on training for and running the marathon along with the rest of the team.
Since its inception in 1949, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has awarded $207 million in research grants. At $32 million annually, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s grant program is one of the most prestigious in the fields of hematology and oncology. Team In Training is a personalized training program designed to prepare a person to complete a marathon or, with the training and coaching the society provides, to improve your time and performance. This past year, over 26,000 runners, walkers, triathletes and cyclists achieved their goals in events across the country while raising over $74 million to fight leukemia and lymphoma. The research funded by these efforts has really paid off. The overall five-year survival rate for children with leukemia is now 85%, a marked improvement from the 4% survival rate in 1961. If you would like some more information on the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, visit www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.
I have a fundraising goal of $5,000 and a personal goal to improve my personal best marathon time of 4:52 to under 4:40. None of this will be possible for me without your support and encouragement. Many of you helped me through those New York City marathons in ways you don’t even realize, especially Steve, Lauren (and now Aidan!) and Jenn through all those training miles in Central Park.
As I train over the next 4 months, knowing that you are all in it with me will help tremendously. Please become part of my team by sending a donation today; click on the donate link to the left to do so now. All donations, no matter the size, will be appreciated and will make a difference. If you feel like putting in some miles with me ... I’ll bring the water and the Power Gel and maybe even give you a turn with the jogging stroller — pushing Aidan, not sitting in it, of course!!!!
With sincere thanks,
Virginia