Your Support for a Marathon Effort

Dear Friends and Family and You Special Blog Readers, Too,

A couple weeks ago my friend Dr. Suz and I embarked on a strange and remarkable journey.  We met at in a room at a hotel here in Santa Cruz and before the evening was over we had signed up to train for a marathon. 26.2 miles.

Of course, because I am me, my first impulse is to run screaming from the room.  Then, of course, because I am me, my next impulse was to say, “Why just one??  Why not two??  Two are always better than one!”  The important part is that something definitely kept me there. Something has made me say YES to getting up on Saturday mornings at 6:00 am, YES to raising over $7,000, YES to walking downstairs backwards because it's easier, to losing a toenail, to washing my sweat-soaked hair every day.  YES to training to compete in the Maui Marathon in September and the Nike Women’s Marathon in October. 

What can that be, you ask? The opportunity to make a difference in the life of someone with cancer.  I can do it, so I will do it!

This morning as I was driving the dogs for their daily walk on the beach, my favorite radio station in the world, KPIG, was playing all kinds of beautiful songs without commercial interruption.  I kept waiting for my favorite DJ, Laura Ellen, to come on in her famous cackle to tell me who had just sung what and to remind me to call in with my favorite song for the daily “Out to Lunch” program at noon. 

But Laura Ellen didn’t come on the radio this morning.  Instead, Ralph Anybody came on and informed all of us that Laura Ellen had died yesterday.  Of lung cancer.  Cancer that she only learned she had last week.  Cancer that had metastasized through out her body.  Cancer that had taken that beautiful loving spirited voice from our air waves forever. 

As most of you know, a few years ago, I also lost my “brother” John to brain cancer.  After putting up a very valiant and brave fight that included cutting-edge treatments at the best hospitals in America, John lost his fight with the tumor and died.  John was one of my dearest and best friends, a person who loved me just as I was and I’m not sure I still comprehend his death. 

That is why I said YES to Team-in-Training (TNT), the program sponsored by The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to raise money for cancer research. For the honor of being able to put John and Laura Ellen and Naomi and Judy’s and all the other names of the loved ones I have known who have been lost to this disease.

And now I also need you to say YES. You don't have to walk downstairs backwards or even wash your hair. You don’t have to lose a toe nail!  All you have to do is give money to help fund cancer research. Please consider donating to this worthy cause.

I ask you to contribute whatever you can. No amount is too small or too large. I’ve even created a website for your donations to make donating a very simple exercise for all of you.   To securely donate to this very worthy cause right now simply click this link!  Go ahead, click.  I'll wait.

Frozen foods and pain killers are also accepted. :-) In return, I offer this: if you know someone with this disease or anyone with cancer and you’d like me to run for them, I invite you to tell me who they are and a little bit of their story. I’ll add their names to my TNT shirt. I want you to know that the dollars we are raising are assisting not only those that are infected with blood-borne cancers, but those that are affected by the disease. My motivation is simple: if we can find a cure for one, we grow ever closer to curing them all.

Thank you so much for all your love and support.  I will be blogging about my progress and I promise to keep you updated! 

My love to each and every one of you.  You are all blessings in my life!

P.S.  Feel free to pass this along to anyone whom you think might like to help in this grand marathon effort! 

Comments

[csarakas]

Hi Jen.

I was honored to donate my small amount for your cause. I do it in memory of my beloved grandparents - Nanny and Papa - who died entirely too young. I hope that someday soon, no child will lose her grandparents to cancer.

[Suz]

Ha! I KNEW Maui was calling your name! Two. I gotta process that for awhile.

[NakedSteve]

I'm impressed. And I'll donate, once I scrounge up some $$.

My first wife did the Maui Marathon in 1999 with Team in Training. Then she contracted Leukemia herself, in 2002, and passed away in 2003. I'd be terribly honored if she were included in your list of people to run for, even though she's past helping (and now existing exquisitely pain-free). The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a great organization, and helped us when we needed helping.

Some of her story was published in a 2002 issue of the Willow Glen Resident, one of the community newspapers that gets distributed around San Jose...

http://www.svcn.com/archives/wgresident/20020904/wg-news3.shtml

Thanks, so much, Jen.

--Steve

[Beatrice M]

You rock!!!! This is awesome and a great coincidence because last week when I wrote out a list of things I wanted to do before I die is to run a marathon.