Andrew Johnston's Competition for a Cure
Living is Winning: From Leukemia to Kona
Welcome to my Team In Training home page.
I have leukemia. Yet I’m going to Kona, Hawaii, to race the Ford Ironman World Championships. I qualified at Ironman Coeur d’Alene in Idaho this past June by placing 38th out of almost 2300 in a race that saw the second highest DNF’s of any iron distance race ever.
As you can imagine, racing with leukemia isn’t easy. The medicine I take causes severe cramping. Pain from the bone marrow biopsies I endure leaves me unable to train for days at a time. And since that horrible day I was diagnosed back in August of 2004, my aerobic capacity has diminished significantly. The wonder drug which saved my life, Gleevec, is basically a chemo and does a great job of keeping my white blood cells from proliferating. Unfortunately, it also keeps my red blood cells, the building blocks of aerobic metabolism, well below normal levels.
These challenges make competing in triathlon difficult on so many levels. But I do it anyway. I have a passion for the sport that even a life threatening disease can never take away. And unlike many cancer survivors I see at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston chained to I.V. poles or confined to their wheelchairs, I’ve been blessed with the ability, the drive, and the chance to at least toe the line. These blessings alone obligate me to compete. And every time I do—every race I start—I do so with the hopes and dreams of anybody affected by cancer.
Although we’ll probably never meet, I feel the strength of these millions with me at the swim start as I wait nervously for the cannon to fire. They help drive my legs on the bike. And they’re the reason I suffer through the run to the finish.
The 2006 Hawaii Ironman is the stage that will showcase my story. Doghouse Pictures is producing a feature length documentary following me as I train for and compete in the most celebrated triathlon in the world. Our aim: to raise money and awareness, and, ultimately, hope for the victims of this terrible disease.
I humbly ask for your support in this noble cause. Your generous donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society will energize me as I tackle 140.6 miles through the lava fields on race day. Any contribution made will make the roads in Kona easier. And though the heat and wind of Hawaii can be intimidating, the hardships I’ve faced in the past two years have prepared me well. With your support, I’m confident I’ll make the finish line. I’ll show myself and countless other survivors that the one thought we hope to hear every morning when we wake up is true: I’m still alive.
On October 21st 2006, I intend to prove it.
In health and happiness --Andrew Johnston
