Update From Art's Cancer Kickin' Campaign: The Rumors Swirl Again!

Hello again from Art's Cancer Kickin' Campaign, coming to you from the marathon trail with the Crawlin' Crab Half Marathon less than three weeks away. After taking a break from Team in Training for three years, I'm back trying to raise money to support the mission of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Many cancer survivors try to find a way to "pay it forward" for the good fortune we had to survive, and this is my way to do this while honoring the memories of those who were not nearly as fortunate as I have been. If I make my fundraising goal by the day of the race, I will dye my hair purple for the Crawlin' Crab. I am nearly 70% of the way there. Want to help me get the rest of the way? Just go to my web page at this URL to make a donation:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/va/crwlncrb13/afritter

Donations of any amount are appreciated and go toward the mission of LLS. If you prefer writing a check to making an online donation, just contact me and we will work out the mechanics.

My Team in Training web page is also the place to start to see my honoree list or just learn more about what I am doing, and why I am feeling so crabby about cancer. By the way, thanks to the many people who have already donated so generously. If you are one of those folks, treat this email as a campaign update, not as a request for another donation.

On the training front, things are going well. My longest training to date has been 12 miles, and I feel like I am nearly ready to do the race. I'm getting in at least four training sessions a week, and the miles are starting to mount up on my fairly new running shoes.

Every time I do Team in Training the rumors start to swirl around me, and once again, I am responding to them. Some of this year's rumors: Art is retiring from TNT (do I have more in common with Brett Favre than just rugged, sexy good looks, incredible athletic ability, and tremendous wealth? Well, okay, only one of us has tremendous wealth.) With his world-class athletic talents, Art clearly has been taking Performance Enhancing Drugs (could it be that my new name should be Lance Artstrong or A-Rit?) Art beat Lindsay Lohan in a drinking contest (I’d have a better chance of beating Usain Bolt in a 100 meter run). Art beat Usain Bolt in a 100 meter run. (I reveal the shocking truth on my blog).

To read the details about these rumors, and more, you can go this link:

http://racn4acure.blogspot.com/2013/09/rumors-about-art-and-team-in-training.html

You have to be careful with rumors, people! Why, before I could refute the rumor about me retiring from TNT, at least a half dozen women, despairing and inconsolable about no longer seeing my incredible physique lumbering down the race course, threw themselves to their death off of bridges. So let's try to prevent such tragedies in the future, Okay?

One rumor you should never believe is that cancers are all curable now. Yeah, we've made great progress - survival rates for many blood cancers have more than doubled since 1960 - but for all too many people, that is not nearly enough progress. Sunday September 15 was Lymphoma Awareness Day, and was a reminder to me of my experience with this illness 11 years ago. I am blessed and grateful to have survived, and to be a part of this now. But I have five family members and friends who have died from cancer in the last 30 months, and that is far, far too many. So let's keep on reaching for a cure - a total cure! Maybe someday, hearing that all cancers are curable will no longer be a bad rumor.

Thanks again to all of you who have already donated in support, and thanks to all who are considering a donation before I wrap up my campaign in less than three weeks. That's all for now from my Cancer Kickin' Campaign, where I am trying to be one more small part in the war against cancer, and the race for a cure.

Art

PS: A number of you had told me earlier that you plan on donate but wanted a reminder. Consider yourself reminded! My campaign is coming down to the wire.