When I first did Ironman Canada in 2007, I saw the purple Team in Training jersies everywhere on the course. I had no idea what it was about, but a few conversations on the bike and run caught me up and I learned that the money they raise is for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. An internet friend of mine also trains and races with Team in Training (shoutout to Jen!).
A couple of years ago, one of my best friends went through a horrible time when her boyfriend was re-diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma. Over the distance between here and Vancouver (over 2000km), I supported her in her pain around this huge loss in her life. Her and I talked about training for and then racing for Team in Training. It hasn’t worked out yet, but I’m sure it will someday.
It was a bit serendipidous when MelloJohnny came into my life and we both had this connection to Team in Training and leukemia and lymphoma. He was diagnosed 25 years ago, when he was 8 years old, with leukemia and lymphoma. He almost didn’t make it. He beat all the odds and came out of it alive and relatively healthy. He has some residual health issues from the treatments, but he is considered cured. This from a time when the statistics worked against him – a
Since MellowJohnny came into my life, I have thought a lot about doing runs and triathlons for a cause. He has wanted his racing to be for causes as well. We both knew about Team in Training and had thought about running with them, but neither of us had really pursued it. However, in our finding each other, we have found the motivation to raise money and run together for Saskatoon’s Team in Training!
So here we are, training, raising money, and racing for Team in Training! It feels wonderful to be doing positive work, while incorporating my passion for running and triathlon. MellowJohnny and I have goals, but I’ll leave that for another post.
