What I Get From Team in Training

I just entered the Gap's contest for non-profits, which is to tell the story of how you get more then what you give to a charity. The winning entry gets a gift certificate to the Gap, and the charity gets $10,000! Here is what I wrote-

I have been involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program for over 13 years now, and I am delighted to be training for the San Diego Rock n' Roll marathon with them! I became involved with TNT as a way to give back the love and support I got when my father died of Leukemia when I was 15. I coped with the death by running, so it seemed fitting to raise money in his memory through running.

Team in Training has been such an integral part of my life. It's wonderful to have a cause "bigger" then myself and spread the message of all that they are doing. I have met so many wonderful people through Team in Training, and it has always given me so much more then I give with each event I do...I even met my husband while training for the Westchester Triathlon with them!

What I was told at the pasta party for the Bermuda marathon, back in 1998, sums up the program for me. We were told the story of the warrior that ran from Sparta to Athens, 26.2 miles, to tell them the war was over. By being a member of Team in Training and running a marathon, we are acting as a messenger of HOPE- that there will be a cure for Leukemia.