My sister is taking part in the Team In Training program, which raises money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I am writing to you with a story, one that has hit me very hard, and very close to home. About 2 years ago, a very good friend of mine, and the captain of my college  lacrosse team, was diagnosed with a form of Lymphoma, a cancer that develops in the lymph nodes and quickly spreads throughout the body. It is the most prevalent of the blood-related cancers, with about 62,000 new cases every year. Scary.

When my friend Kristen told my teammates and me about it we had no idea how great an impact it would have. For two years now Kristen has fought this cancer with all her strength. She is the strongest woman I have ever known. She has never let it affect her life, even through all her unpleasant tests and procedures. More importantly, she always stayed positive. As her team, and her friends, we did all we could to be there for her, help her in anyway, support her. But in the end, she was the one waking up each morning not knowing her future.  We all wanted to do more but we felt so helpless. But one day at work, a co-worker mentioned that she had been in a similar situation, and participated in a program called Team In Training. I thought little of it until, ironically enough, two days later I received a flier from the organization. The coincidence was too obvious to ignore, so I called to find out more…

Team In Training is a program that started in 1988 when a man gathered friends and family together to run the New York Marathon with the mission of raising funds for the Leukemia Society in honor of his daughter and her battle with cancer.  They raised $320,000, and the rest is history.

On Jan 9th, she will run 26.2 miles in Arizona and raise nearly $5,000 for cancer research. If interested, you can make a donation here or find out more information on her Team in Training homepage. 

Good luck, Ally!