Eric Mandel's Team In Training Page
Racing for a Cure...
Welcome to my Team In Training home page - yes, I'm doing it again! Once more I will dedicate myself to the hard work and long hours of training for and running my second full marathon - 26.2 miles! (Please scroll down to see my progress and other news.) And once again I need your help to make it happen - and help pry away the harsh grip cancer continues to hold over our loved ones.
I am training to participate in a major endurance event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training – the Prague International Marathon! Moreover, I have accepted the responsibility of being a mentor for twelve new team members, helping them through the long training season and multiplying our fundraising efforts. It is an honor to work with such a committed group of people. I’ll be doing the hard work (see updates below) - all I ask is for your donation to the cause!
All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I'm completing this event in honor of those individuals who are now or have battled blood cancers - especially my mother's dear friend Harold Adler (who recently lost his fight). Harold learned firsthand the value of the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society’s support and assistance, and it is no exaggeration to say that the research they sponsor has led to huge advances in extending lives for cancer sufferers, improving the quality of life for them, and bringing us closer each year to real understanding that will lead to cures for many types of cancers.
My efforts are insignificant compared to what those battling cancer face – they are the real heroes, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!
Please make a donation right here today to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance the Society's mission.(Just click on link at left.)
Please donate what you can (of course it's tax deductible) to help advance the Society's mission and support my participation in Team In Training. Funds go towards critical medical research, patient support, professional education, and advocacy. Note if you donate $100 or more you will get Alaska Air miles too!
I hope you'll visit my web site occasionally to check back and see my progress. Please also help me get the word out by passing this website address to those you know - it will make reaching my goal that much easier! Thanks for your support!
Peace and much gratitude, Eric
"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give." W. A. Nance
For those interested, Harold chronicled his fight in a wonderful weblog, which you can view at www.caringbridge.org/visit/haroldadler
Periodic Updates:
11/4/07: Training officially started today (only a half hour, a long way to go!). Fortunately I have kept up some of my endurance, so while visiting my mom in Chicago “treated” myself to an hour run along the lakeshore. Windy but invigorating!
12/1/07: A month into training now, and it’s a good thing we do this as a team, because the cold, rain and wind of the Seattle winter is upon us and I wouldn’t force myself to get up and run otherwise! Naturally we end up running into the wind on our return along the waterfront! Brrrr!
12/29/07: We’re up to an hour run and I’m feeling pretty good, though the night runs are pretty cold. Getting in a good mindset helps, as does the camaraderie of my teammates. I missed a few days with the holidays; now going to cut out for some ski days! I’ll look to the New Year for fresh inspiration.
1/4/08: A nice run along Lake Washington despite heavy wind and occasional dumping rain! OK, it wasn’t ideal! I guess the winds that shut down the upper ski chair lifts in the mountains at Crystal yesterday were still kicking around to test us this morning!
1/12/08: Wow, already up to 80 minutes on the long weekly run! Feeling pretty good, had a nice group loop around Greenlake/Gasworks Park/UW/Ravenna Park and back. I offered some of my power jellybeans during the run – my companions tore into them like a pack of wolves! We also were honored with an appearance by young Joshua Alfaro and his family, who had an amazing graphic display of Joshua’s cancer battle: a string of beads with each kind of bead standing for a different hospital visit/blood draw/chemo treatment etc. Know how brave that kid is? The “necklace” string was the length of a jump rope!! If we needed any motivation, he just gave it to us in spades.
1/15: Strapped on my headlamp and red flashing light (safety first) and did a midweek 50 minute Greenlake group run tonight with a small hardcore contingent - looking to dodge black ice and freezing puddles in the dark after a rare Seattle snowstorm partly melted! It was a bit treacherous, but I only braved the cold knowing that others would be there with me. (Plus I have to set a good example as a mentor!)
1/19: A strong 90 minutes at the group run, and some really exciting news!!
Internationally known and award winning author Chris Crutcher, whom I met at one of his public readings, has generously offered to help publicize my efforts on the links page of his excellent website! His latest novel, Deadline, which I highly recommend, is a moving (and funny) story centered on a small-town high school senior whose life is turned upside down by the sudden news that he has a blood cancer that will likely end his life within the year. If you want to see what Chris wrote about me, check it out at http://www.chriscrutcher.com/content/blogcategory/111/88/ - scroll towards the end (past others like Sheman Alexie!)
I'm grateful to Chris for his support - if you pick up one (or more) of his books you're sure to be enthralled and I'll consider it a good deed returned. Not only is he a gripping writer and a great guy making a huge difference for teens, he's also a staunch and vocal opponent of censorship! No wonder we're sympatico.
