Beverly Benton's Race for a Cure
Racing to Save Lives
Welcome! I'm about to begin the journey of a lifetime and because you're here, you're an important part of it!
I have always wanted to compete in a marathon, but always found reasons not to. Now I have found that reason. I will be running in the Nike Women's Marathon as part of Team in Training, a wonderful group whose mission is to raise money to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.
These horrible blood cancers touch many lives -- maybe yours or a loved one's -- and you can help by donating money to fund research to stop these deadly cancers. I lost my dear cat, Cammie, to a rare leukemia earlier this year, so I know firsthand how much it hurts to stand helplessly by while the cancer steals a loved one away.
Please help me help others as I race for a cure. You don't even have to put on any running shoes or get off your couch! Just post your donation on my website or mail me a check and your name will be added to the list of big-hearted people who want to help us in this very important fight. Remember -- in your lifetime, either you or a friend or loved one will likely be stricken with one of these cancers. PLEASE do your part to help fund research so that these horrible cancers might be cured in our lifetime.
Oh, and you can track my training progress, too! Can you believe I'll be running 26.2 miles? The race takes place in beautiful San Francisco, on October 21, 2007. Together, we'll cross the finish line and you'll forever have the thanks of those cancer patients whose lives will be touched by your generous donations. Give generously, won't you?
Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance the Society's mission. Donations are tax-deductible. The tax ID # is 13-5644916. PLEASE add your donation by November 15th-- only 7 days away!!
I hope you'll visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!
TRAINING PROGRESS
Week 1 -- It's been a long time since I laced up running shoes and headed outdoors in the dark, but this will be my new reality for the next 5 months each Saturday morning! Group training runs start at 7am and today we'll be running 3 miles!!
Follow-up -- 3 Miles seemed like 3 HUNDRED miles today!! How am I ever going to run 26.2 miles??!
Week 3 -- Gotta do 6 miles today. Hope my knees hold out!!
Follow-up -- NOTE TO SELF: No more wine, cheese and poker parties the night before training!! Thought I was going to need an oxygen tank by mile 3!!
Week 4 -- No training for me today. My heart has been broken. My sweet cat, Sadie, passed away at 2:30am this morning from kidney failure. She died in my arms. Rest in peace, Sadie Mae.
Week 6 -- After 2 weeks off, I'm expected to run 10(!) miles today!! I've NEVER run 10 consecutive miles in my life!! We'll see . . .
Follow-up -- I made it!!! My lungs worked beautifully (take THAT, asthma!!) but my knees started to complain those last 3 miles. I have now discovered the miracle of frozen peas as a "cure" for aching joints!!! The cashier at Ralph's thought I had a real thing for peas when she rang up my 4 one-pound bags.:-)))
Week 8 -- Today we get an "easy" workout -- a trail run in Reseda to Nike Tower, about 6 miles.
Follow-up -- Got to see a spectacular view of the Valley, as well as Cold War military propaganda. Nike Tower was designed as a lookout site for launching missiles to deflect those incoming "Commie" warheads. YIKES!! (Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Just Do It"!!)
Week 9 -- My alarm went off at 5:30am -- on a SATURDAY!! Our training runs will now begin each week at 6:30am, due to the length of the runs and the searing Valley heat!!
Follow-up -- Thank goodness for water stops and bathrooms!! 13 miles sure seems like a long distance when you're hot, thirsty and you need to pee!! I just realized that today's distance is the equivalent of a half marathon!!! I just finished a HALF MARATHON!! WOW!!!
Week 11 -- YEA!! Today we get to do our group training at Zuma Beach (funny -- I don't see those Baywatch people anywhere!) It's such a nice change of pace to train next to the ocean!
Follow-up -- Who said running barefoot in the sand was easy?? My calves are KILLING me!! After doing team relay races and push-ups, our coaches treated us to a beach potluck. We were actually ENCOURAGED to eat sweet treats along with our trail mix, fruit and ever-present pretzels. I confess -- I have lost my taste for sugar. YEA!!!!
Week 12 -- I'm shrinking!! I've dropped over 40 pounds since training began. I look and feel better, but I don't have clothes that fit anymore. Nice problem to have, I guess.
Fundraising efforts are now beginning to come together. My musician friend, Marina V, is going to dedicate her next show to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The two of us are designing and handpainting armbands and wristbands that will be sold at her show, with the money going directly to LLS.
I have handpainted my own armband that I will wear on race day. It has the name "Cammie" painted on it, along with the name of his sister, Ginger (his blood donor during his 4 blood transfusions while being treated for leukemia) and the date of his passing -- 1/29/07. He was and is my inspiration for training for this marathon AND for raising money for LLS in hopes that a cure can be found!
RACE WEEKEND RECAP
WE DID IT!!!!! I finished the race (and I got a sterling silver Tiffany's necklace to prove it!) and with your help, our Team in Training group collectively raised over $18.5 MILLION to help in the fight against blood cancers and to fund patient services. WAY TO GO!!!
Race weekend was one of THE MOST AMAZING events I have ever experienced!! Imagine a city of 23,00 people all trying to run or walk down the same street at the same time and you've pretty much got the picture of what this was like. Add to that the sight of thousands of other people lining the streets, wearing costumes, holding signs, cheering, singing, chanting, ringing cowbells. Now add in rock bands, a gospel choir, a bagpipe ensemble, an oxygen bar, a chocolate station, nutrition stops, port-a-potties (THE most important station on the route!!) and don't forget to mix in the incredible scenery -- the Golden Gate bridge, the San Francisco waterfront, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Park, the city skyline, the beach -- AMAZING!! With all this going on around us, it was ALMOST easy to forget that a marathon was in progress!! I said ALMOST!
I finished in a time of 5 hours, 41 minutes. Not bad for my first marathon! (My time would've been better if I hadn't made all those pit stops for photo ops and pee stops) Not even one blister and the knees and feet held up beautifully, too!)
There were 2 squads of very handsome men, dressed in tuxedos and Nike sneakers, holding silver trays loaded with those little blue boxes from Tiffany's just waiting to give all the finishers their rewards!! Believe it or not, the biggest reward was knowing that we finished the race and raised $18.5 million for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!! You can't imagine how emotional it was to cross the finish line and know that the moment you've been training for for almost 6 months was finally here -- and in the blink of an eye (or the tick of a digital timing chip), it was over!! What a rush of emotions!
I want to give each of you a big THANK YOU for being part of my team!! You were with me every step of the way. I also took photos all along the race course so that I could share the sights and memories of race day with you. I thank each of you from the bottom of my heart for being part of this most incredible journey. Let's do it again next year, OK?? I'm in -- how about you???
Oh, and one last shameless fundraising plea. There's still time to contribute -- November 15th is the cut-off date -- to get me past the fundraising finish line. Just a few more dollars and I'm there!! Thanks for your help!!
