Donna Marino

Last year I joined my good friend Denise on the route of the Marine Corp Marathon and ran 8miles with her. As I stood on the sidelines waiting to find her, I met a number of peoplecheering the runners and they all had one thing in common..they all said "What would possess someone to run 26.2 miles?"

Okay, maybe it's a because it's thier kind of thing, or simply because by joining upwith Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training, I can raise money for a cause near anddear to my heart, and achieve a personal goal of running a marathon.

TNT is The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's largest fundraising program, bringing in over $73million this past year alone. Each participant in the program pledges to raise a certain amountof money during the 4-5 months they train for their event.

Every five minutes, someone in the United States learns that they have leukemia, lymphoma, ormyeloma, and every 10 minutes, a child or adult dies form one of these diseases. While more andmore people are becoming survivors, there is still no cure.

I won't be able to train for this alone, and I would be honored if you would help me. My goal isto raise $3300 by August 27. I invite you to be part of my goal.

I am training for a "doubleheader"… two events this fall: the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach and the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington DC. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia and lymphoma from taking more lives.

I'm completing this event in honor of all those who are battling blood cancers but more specifically in memory of my father, Dan DePasquale, who died of leukemia at the age of 43. He initially went to the doctor on the advice on my grandmother, who told him "his color wasn't right". This was Mother's Day, 1967; he died the following August. I was eight years old. My dad, as well as others battling this disease, are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

Thanks for your support. See you at the finish line!

Donna

Click here to return to Chuck’s Official Training Website