Sarah, left, as part of the Team Viacom fundraiser in New York City.
I don’t often try and get people to give money through this blog.
Usually, it’s once a year when I am trying to solicit a few bucks for our Relay For Life team (don’t worry, that will be coming soon enough).
But this time, it’s for a friend and former co-worker, Sarah.
Sarah is trying to raise a bunch of bucks for a good cause. And to do this, she’s running a half marathon in Miami this Sunday. In other words, a 13.1-mile stroll. No problem, right?
Well…
I worked with Sarah at the newspaper for a couple of years. She started as a part-timer in the sports department and eventually became a copy editor. She’s a happy-go-lucky person, but if somebody had told me Sarah would be running a half marathon a few years ago…
… I probably would have laughed in their face.
See, Sarah has been known to injure herself in odd ways when it comes to athletics. So a half marathon? It took me off-guard when I saw it, that’s for sure!
Sarah, right, after competing in the Seaford Wellness Hot Chocolate 5K on Dec. 3.
OK, humor aside, this is serious.
Sarah is a kind-hearted soul and her undertaking this is amazing enough. Heck, anyone deciding to run 13.1 miles for a charity should be applauded. That’s not an easy undertaking.
Sarah is running for the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through Team in Training. She’s competing at the ING Miami Half Marathon this Sunday.
TNT Training works to prepare people for endurance sports. In turn, those people work to donate and raise money for charities. According to a its fact sheet, TNT has prepared more than 500,000 people to compete in a marathon, half marathon, triathlon, 100-mile bicycle ride or hike adventure. Those people have raised $1 billion to support blood cancer research and patient services.
As she competes, she’ll keep the memory of her paternal grandmother, Betty Weber, in her mind. Betty Weber died in 2004 of complications from breast cancer. Sarah says her grandmother was a lady who was extremely fit and had been a physical education teacher.
Let’s put this race in perspective for Sarah.
She started training in October. At that point, she said she couldn’t run more than a mile without having to give in. Now, her longest run/walk has been 11 miles. She uses a run/walk interval setup where she runs for five minutes and walked for one minute. A resident of New York City, this training has allowed Sarah to run across the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge and George Washington Bridge.
That’s pretty impressive.
Her goal, she said, is to finish. Based on her times now, a time of 2 hours, 30 minutes to 2:45 would be about right. But she said she’s not putting a time on her goal — just to cross that line.
This is all being done for a reason, however. It’s not just to run for the sake of running in a half marathon.
She’s doing this to raise money for a good cause. Donations are tax-deductible. Her goal is $3,200. As of me writing this, she’s a shade beyond $3,000. So if you have a buck or two and can donate, send it over and do a good thing. Every dollar helps.
If you can and will donate, you can visit Sarah’s fundraising page here.
Remember, it goes to a good cause.
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