Team "Goose"

Fightin' For That Titan

b>2/7/06 Update
Hi there! I thought that I ought to bring the page up to date since we did complete the marathon and it was an awesome experience!! For all the details you can go to www.carepages.com and use the name: jonryan78 or www.caringbridge.org/mi/jonathan . Have a wonderful day!
12/29/05 Update
Wow, I haven't updated for quite some time! Things have been so busy with training, the holidays, and Jonathan's treatment. Jody and I completed our 20-miler a couple weeks ago on a very cold, windy and icy day. It went well. We are in our taper leading up to the marathon. We leave in 2 weeks from today. Jody's shin splints are still very painful, but he is hanging in there and still running! I will update again soon! Please continue your prayers for my son, Jonathan(birthday boy today 19!). He has endured so much, come so far, but still has such a long way to go. Love you all! Candy(Live Strong & Love Stronger)
11/8/05 Update
Hi everyone! Training is going well. We are both up to 13 miles on our weekend long run. This coming weekend will be 14! Jody is slightly injured with a shin splint. He got some different shoes and a brace. Hopefully that will help! The Crop For A Cure was a great success. About $800. was raised! Everyone had a good time. Thank you everyone who helped with donations of food, prizes and attendance! I couldn't have done it without you all. Also, the Lumen Christi playoff shirts raised $1,022! Thank you! Please keep praying for all the heroes with this terrible disease~cancer really stinks! Our story is down below. Live Strong and Love Stronger, Candy
10/19/05 Update
I am sorry for the belated update. I am not sure how many people come and check on our progress, but it would be great to know! If you do, please email and let us know at sweeneyclan5@comcast.net. We are up to 12 miles on our long run. Jody has been up to 13, but needed to get back on track with the schedule so we should be doing the same mileage now! We are about at the halfway point. It is going great with no injuries. Fundraising is going ok. Our can/bottle drive was a great success and it brought in close to $600.! We are having a "Crop For A Cure" scrapbooking day coming up November 5. Please contact me for tickets. Jody is also going to have a poker party, so if you are interested in participating/helping, let us know! Thank you for all your support, it means so much! Check out Melissa Etheridge's new song, Run For Life! It is great! If you are interested in our story of why we are running, check it out below, and also Jonathan's websites. Live Strong and Love Stronger!
9/27/05 Update
Hi there! Training is going well. Jody and I went to Ann Arbor for group training. He ran 10 miles, and I ran 9. It went well. We are hoping the fundraising will start going better. We have to commit on October 18th and need to have a substantial amount of money by then in order to continue, so we are really hoping to get more donations coming in! Then we will need $7,000. by the second week of December! We have some events planned...so stay tuned! Have a great day!
9/20/05 Update
Hey Everyone! Thanks for checking in! Jody ran 13 miles for his long run this past weekend(technically that is a half marathon!!!). He ran from our house to the Meijer on East Michigan and back. I did my long run at the Cascades on Sunday with an 8-miler. So, I hit the 20 mile mark for the week's total! As you can see, there have been some more donations coming in ! Thank you everyone! Until next time...Live Strong and Love Stronger!
9/15/05 Update: Hello! This past weekend, Jody, Conner, Keegan and I participated in the Foote Race. Jody and I each ran 5 miles plus I ran/walked another 3 miles right after. Jody had run 11 miles the day before for his long run. So, this coming weekend his long run is 12 miles, and mine is 8. That course was extremely hard because there were steep hills and it really took a toll on us both. We both had to take a couple days off after that! If you have an interest in helping with fundraising, give us a call or email. RUNNING FOR A CURE!
9/10/05 Update: Hi again! The last two weeks have been very fruitful for training. I(candy)ran my first 6 miler on my long run last Saturday, Jody did his 10 miler. Yesterday Jody did his 11 miler, and today we ran at the Foote Race. We both did the 5 mile run, but I had to get in 7 miles today, so I did the 5k as well, which is 3.1 miles. So I put in 8 miles today running at least 6 of them. It was fun, but boy did I need a nap! We are slightly nervous about fundraising the amount we need. Until next time, Live Strong and Love Stronger!
8/30/05 Update: Hello Everyone. Thanks for checking in! This past week my long run was 5 miles again, but this time I ran at the Cascades. It was a little hard but I did not stop or walk. I do plan on walking a little as the runs get longer. Jody ran 9 miles and felt great. He got hit by some heavy rain but kept on running(like the energizer bunny!). We had a fundraising table set up all weekend at Sam's Club and raised over $300. It was so neat to hear stories from others who stopped to share with us. There was one lady, a breast cancer survivor, who actually had a stem cell transplant as part of her treatment! It is amazing that the research for blood cancers is helping with other cancers too! We met a few others with stories of hope and stories of tragedy, but they all were very grateful for the work we were out there doing. All I can say is, "WOW!". As we continue to run our shorter and medium workouts during the week, this coming Saturday our long run will be: mine, 6 miles and Jody 10 miles. We have been very blessed with so many people offering advice and giving information on fundraising. We love it! Live Strong and Love Stronger!
8/20/05 Update: This week my(Candy's) long run was 5 miles today. I have a long way to go, but I have never RAN 5 miles. I did pretty good. I was bummed because it was storming when I woke up so I wasn't able to go to the Cascades. I wasn't looking forward to running the 5 miles on the treadmill, but I did it! Jody has yet to do his long run this week, work has kept him very busy and he's not getting the sleep he needs. He is ahead of schedule though so he is fine. Next weekend we will be at Sam's club all weekend selling "goose" bands(YES! They are in!) and whatever else we can think of. Let us know if you want a band. They are $5. each, our email is: sweeneyclan5@comcast.net . They will also be on the Lumen spirit wagon at the games. Live Strong and Love Stronger!
8/6/05 Update: Jody and I participated in the Clark Lake Run this morning. It was a beautiful morning for it! Jody ran the 12k(7.45 miles), and I walked the 5k. I did walk it a little faster than I intended. I am trying to work on endurance rather than speed which is hard for me because I was a sprinter in high school. Jody felt great and did very well. They mentioned what we are doing and set out a box for donations-we got $119. !!! That was so nice of them to do that being that they are actually doing their own fundraising for the Clark Lake Spirit Trail. Oh, and look!! We got our first online donation! Thank you so much!


Dear Friends, We will be traveling to Phoenix in January to participate in a marathon as part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma's Society Team In Training(TNT). We will be running to honor our son, Jon "Goose" Ryan, 18, who was diagnosed with leukemia on August 31, 2004,taking away his senior year and football season. He is currently in treatment until 2008 and doing well. We are also running in honor of many others who we know personally including an uncle who is finished with treatment for Lymphoma; Brittnee, 16, currently undergoing intense chemotherapy for leukemia; Emily, 14, who is finished with treatment and in remission for leukemia, and many others. We will add more names as we obtain permission.
We are so passionate about this! We must raise a combined total of $7,000. We are confident we will meet this goal. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society uses over 76% of donations for research and patient services. Without the funds for research my child would not be alive today. We are so very thankful for the advances in medicine today. However, leukemia is still the number one disease killer in children and strikes many more adults. There is still much work to be done! We can't control the cancer that has come into our life, but we CAN do something, and we hope you will help us with this great cause. Please come visit our web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see our progress. Thanks for your support!
Jody & Candy Sweeney

To visit Jonathan's websites: www.carepages.com and use name: jonryan78, and www.caringbridge.org/mi/jonathan