Seven Great TNT Memories

This is the second in my series of posts on celebrating being a seven year cancer survivor. My previous one was about seven amazing experiences.

In my four previous seasons doing Team in Training, three as a marathoner and one as a mentor, I have had many great memories. It is very difficult to pick out only seven of these – nearly impossible, actually – but here they are, in chronological order.

1. Raising $5,000 for my First Event in Only Five Weeks. I blogged before about my apprehension about whether I could raise $5,000 for the Anchorage Marathon in 2005. This was the minimum amount I had to raise, and it seemed like a nearly impossible amount. But I decided I had to try it, and signed up for the Summer Team. People were so generous, and I passed this amount in the first five weeks. I doubled my fundraising goal as a result, and passed that as well, ultimately raising over $11,600. Since then, I have always set my fundraising goal high, and whether I meet it or not, I give it a good run for the money.

2. The Leukemia Survivor Cheerleader in Alaska. Near mile 25 of the Anchorage Marathon on June 18, 2005, I was soaked, cold, tired. My feet had huge blisters. My legs hurt with each step. Standing in the rain was a lady with a large sign that said “Leukemia Survivor – Thank You.” I will never forget seeing her and what it meant, even as a cancer survivor, to see a fellow survivor out there cheering for us on a cool, rainy day. It might be my all time best TNT memory.

3. Crossing my First Marathon Finish Line. Very shortly after that last memory, I became a marathoner, walking 26.2 miles that day at a fast pace. It was perhaps the proudest day of my life – to come back from surviving cancer three years previously and now to complete a marathon. When I am 95 and sitting in my rocking chair (or maybe I will be training for a 10k?) I will still remember that day and smile with joy!



4. The 2006 San Diego Marathon Team from Richmond. This was a really large and fun team, and we just had a great time together out there. Many of them became first time marathoners or half-marathoners, and it was cool to share that. I had two mentees complete the half marathon, including one doing her first.


5. Meeting Mary at the TNT Tent in San Diego. My wife Mary made the trip out with me to San Diego, and we had a great time visiting the World Famous Zoo, the Wild Animal Park, touring downtown San Diego, and trying to learn how to surf. Mary made it out to the TNT finisher tent and it was great to see her after the race.


6. Learning that Elaine Finished the San Diego Marathon in 2007. In 2007, I mentored for the summer team and had participants in the Nashville, San Diego, and Anchorage Marathons. Even though I didn’t do a race, I was especially thrilled to learn that two of my mentees, Elaine and Gwenna, became first time marathoners in San Diego. Elaine was age 62, had recovered from a really tough cancer just months before starting training, and had lost her husband to leukemia 20 years before. And a lot of people told her not to do the race: she was “too old”, too soon after cancer, too difficult to raise the money. Did Elaine listen? Nope, she just went out and showed what she could do. I will always remember her calling me that night to tell me the news that she was now a marathoner – so exciting!

7. Completing the Arizona Marathon in a Personal Record to Celebrate Five Years in Remission. My time was about 5:57 and was my PR for a marathon - a pretty good time for having walked most of it. It was so special because my praticipation was to celebrate my 5 year remission just a month earlier. At the end, I was greeted by teammates Chuck and Suzanne, who waited for me after finishing their races! Chuck was a new marathoner, finishing like a day ahead of my time and just missing qualifying for Boston, and Suzanne just did her first half marathon. Do we look proud and happy?
On the same day, I learned that teammates Robbie, Theresa, and Paul had completed the Disney Marathon, and teammates Joan-E and Rachel completed the Arizona Marathon with me. All were first time marathoners, and it is great to remember them and their achievements, along with Chuck's and Suzanne's, as I write this.

For my next "Celebrating Seven" post, I will discuss seven really cool wildlife encounters I have had since surviving cancer. Like my other lists, it will be hard to get down to only seven!