On June 21st 2003, I ran The Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon (26.2 miles) in Anchorage, Alaska to raise funds for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Several thoughts have crossed my mind as to why I am taking on this challenge:

· I have always been concerned about the threat of cancer
· I have recently been interested in completing a marathon
· I have always wanted to see Alaska

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is an organization that works towards finding a cure and better treatments for Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and Myeloma. Close to 106,700 people (2002 statistic) are diagnosed with Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma a year. The Society’s funding of research and development is yielding treatments such as Immunotherapy, Vaccines, and Gene Therapy that greatly improve the lives of patients.

During this challenge I will be a member of the Northern New Jersey chapter of Team in Training (TNT), which is a program for groups of individuals who are in training to race and raise funds to support The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. My goal as part of this team is to raise $5,000.00.

Our NJ-TNT chapter has three honored teammates whose stories were so moving during our first team meeting. Susan Johns (pictured above) was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia) at age seven, and now at age eleven has been in remission for a year and a half. Joey Cialkowski was diagnosed with ALL at age five and now at age nine has been in remission for the past two and a half years. Amy Rice, who had Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma-large cell type, has been cancer-free for 13 years and just gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Throughout my fundraising and training I look to these three teammates for inspiration and motivation to keep me on track towards achieving my goals.

You can be a part a of our effort to cure cancer by going to the donate section. All contributions are 100% tax deductible and will further The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s lifesaving programs through research, education, and patient and family services.

It was a beneficial experience and I thank all my friends and family for their support.