For a long time, I've wanted to run a marathon. On October 12, 2003, I'm finally going to do it. I'm going to run the Chicago Marathon. Chicago is a race that draws world-class marathoners from many countries. World records have been broken there. It also draws tens of thousands of runners like me.

A marathon can't be done casually. Running 26.2 miles requires careful preparation and hard work. So I've joined Team In Training, a program run by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). Team In Training is a group of energetic people who are committed to improving their health, training for endurance events, supporting each other, and raising money for medical research. I'm very glad to be part of this team. I have made a commitment to train for five months (view my training progress), to finish this marathon, and to raise $3800 for LLS. I know I can do it with the help of my coach, teammates, family and friends.

This year, about 100,000 Americans will contract leukemia and other related cancers, and about 60,000 will die. But there is also good news. Researchers are making progress. New treatments have helped many patients stay alive and healthy. 40 years ago, only 5% of children with leukemia survived. Now it is 73%.

I can understand these statistics intellectually, but they don't convey much feeling. That's why every Team In Training member is introduced to an Honored Teammate, a local leukemia patient, and we train and raise funds in their honor. My Honored Teammate is Lise Rasmussen-Wright, a wife and a mother of three, who has suffered from chronic lymphocytic leukemia for three years. Before her diagnosis she was a marathoner and triathlete. Her disease has taken away the endurance she had before, but most of the time she is able do normal daily activities, keep herself fit, and maintain a positive attitude. She is undergoing several treatments, including some new experimental ones. Sometimes she comes to our long training runs, and helps at the aid station. I hope that sometime she will be healthy enough to run with us.

So with Lise in mind, I'm asking you to give to LLS. Your donation is tax-deductible. At least 75% will be spent on medical research and patient services, which is why the magazine Money ranked LLS as one of the top ten large charities. I gratefully welcome donations of any size. Please help other patients survive and thrive as Lise has.

Thanks,
David Wasserman