Honored Hero: Mark Stratton

Saturday's honored hero is the husband of another teammate...his name is Mark and his wife (who runs with TNT) is Austin. However, they weren't married when Mark was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma in May of 2006...they had just met. He was given a 50/50 chance of surviving his illness and by the time he finished chemo in October of that SAME YEAR he was in remission! Amazing! Even more good news was to follow...the following October in 2007 Austin and Mark were married and have since been blessed with two beautiful children.

Since Austin met Mark and he became an honored hero of LLS she has wanted to participate in a TNT event in honor of him...and this is her season! On June 5th she will be running in the San Diego Rock 'N' Roll Marathon. That entire race benefits LLS! This will be her 1st full marathon...and I know she will do fabulous.

On Austin's fundraising page...she posts updates...and I want to share her post from March 8...

There are just some days, like today, that I DO NOT want to get up and run. I want to stay in my nice warm and cozy bed, I don't want to get up I do not want to run 6.5 miles in the morning and 4 at night. Then as I am lying there listening to my alarm I remind myself why I am doing this. I remind myself of the days that it literally took every ounce of energy that Mark had just to get out of bed. I am remind of the days that it took all he had to sit up and watch a movie with me. I remember that I do not want him or anyone else to have to suffer that same fate, and so once again, I get up. I put both feet on the floor, put my shorts, shirt, socks, and shoes on, I go down stairs walk out my front door, turn on my ipod and say a prayer, Thanking the Lord for the strength I know only comes from Him to get up and do this. Phillipians 4:13.....Then I run!

Her words ring true for many family members of those that are diagnosed with blood cancers or any cancer. Those of us that train and fundraise for these events have a choice but our honored heros do NOT have a choice...they do not have a choice to skip treatment or spend a holiday in the hospital. As many have said...we run for those that can't.

We Train Endure Achieve and Matter in honor of heros like Mark!

GO MARK...GO AUSTIN & GO TEAM!

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Racing Day Approaching and Knee Surgery

Sunday will be my 5th HALF marathon...I'm excited as I think I'm actually prepared for this and might get the time I've been hoping for after completing two full marathons at the end of 2010. But with that being said, one can prepare all that want for a race, but you never know how the actual race day will turn out, so I'm anxious.

Furthermore, I'm doing this one on my own...no running partner and no TNT. TNT typically doesn't co-participant in events that benefit Komen. And while the Komen organization uses some funding for things I don't personally agree with...I do give them credit as they have brought great awareness to breast cancer research. As most of you know my Mom is a breast cancer survivor and I want a cure for that just as much as I want a cure for blood cancers. I just wish that much awareness was given to childhood cancers...ALL cancers for that matter!

So off my soapbox...what's this about knee surgery some of you might be asking??

Unfortunately my Mom injured her knee and today is having a complete knee replacement. Please send prayers her way as the surgery requires several weeks/months of rehab. She was very upset that she will (obviously) be unable to complete the half marathon in May but I'm hoping to run it for her along with Allie!

So wish me luck on Sunday and wish my Mom luck on the long recovery!

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Honored Hero: James

This past Saturday at training Cheryl and Chris Berg joined us to share their story about their son, James...seem in the photo above (sandwiched between his older twin brothers!).

First, a little background on how I originally met the Berg Family....I had the pleasure of meeting the Berg Family on the 2009 winter marathon team. I first heard about James Berg at our last training before the 2009 White Rock event...it was bitterly cold that morning and I didn't want to go to training but Allie was determined and said we had to go, so off we went that morning bundled in layers of clothes and running our last training miles before the event. As we all stood there huddled in a circle Cheryl and Chris told James' story...he was diagnosed with "ALL" on April 23, 2008. As they continued to tell about his diagnosis and treatment, in my mind, I was "blasted back to the past" remembering when Allie was diagnosed and how I thought I was coming home for a normal thanksgiving break but instead I was picked up at the airport and in the parking garage was told that Allie was diagnosed with leukemia. For some reason...hearing James' story really reminded me of Allie and why I was a part of TNT. I can picture that morning of training like it was yesterday. James' story and his family's commitment to helping find a cure and their continued participation in TNT events continues to motivate and inspire me! The Berg family is always in my thoughts and prayers.

So back to Saturday's mission moment...the Bergs came out and told about James and his journey. For the past year I have kept up on his caringbridge page. This is the 3rd time I have heard Chris and Cheryl speak about James' journey but this time they spoke about the end of his treatment...which if all goes as planned will be this July 2011! They spoke about how excited (and nervous) they are for the end of treatment. As many families do...they also said they would be throwing a huge "end of chemo/treatment" party. And one of the things they will do at that party is throw away all the empty plastic medicine bottles they have kept over the years. Cheryl brought one shoe box full of them and as she opened it I could see how shocked the team was to see that one child has to endure all that medicine for 3+ years. It definitely puts what we are fundraising for into perspective!

Thank you Berg Family for sharing your story!

GO JAMES! GO TEAM!

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