We did it! Sisters-in-Training exceeded our goal and raised over $8,500 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and completed the Nike Women’s Half-Marathon in San Francisco on October 19th. The Nike Women’s Marathon is one of the largest women’s marathons in the world and exclusively benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. There were 20,000 runners this year who helped raise over $18 million for the society, with $110,000 coming from the Suncoast chapter (our chapter) of Team in Training!
In May we made the decision to join TNT and have been fundraising and training ever since. We are so grateful to everyone who donated to this amazing cause and supported us in reaching our goal. We did many yard sales, sold Charly’s Cookies at Gulfport’s Art Walk, had balloon pops and did yoga for runners. Through these various fundraisers we had a chance to become an active part of our community and get to know so many wonderful people. One of the most rewarding aspects of these past few months has been meeting people who are thankful that we’re helping the society or inspiring people to donate or run. In San Francisco we had the chance to talk to many different TNT participants and compare experiences, but it was the bus ride to the race start that moved us most. There was a young mom who was a participant and sitting next to one of our teammates; she thanked her for everything she had done for TNT. She went on to explain that she herself has a form of lymphoma and has directly benefited from the research and support from the society. She was running the race as a way to show her kids that she was still strong and capable, even with her cancer diagnosis. Being able to hear her story and how all the hard work that we’ve put into TNT is directly helping patients gave us goose bumps.
The race itself was also an incredible experience, definitely our favorite race that we’ve done so far. The weather was nice and cool, in 40’s and only slightly foggy, which was a welcomed change from the heat and humidity of Florida. We had so much fun sightseeing and being cheered on by the amazing crowds that the 13.1 miles flew by and we barely noticed the hills! We both have started planning more half’s and possibly, hopefully, a full marathon for the future. We also plan on staying active within TNT, either volunteering as part of the cheering crowd that helped make the race so memorable or possibly as a mentor for future TNT participants.
So, once again, thank you to everyone who has supported us these past few months!
