Preparations, Gifts and Awards

The Pre-Race Potluck

Last night we had our pre-race potluck dinner for the San Francisco and Dublin teams.  We got together with our teammates at the LLSC office in downtown Montreal to go over the details of Race Weekend.  We also got some last minute advice from our beloved coaches and staff, and we (the mentors) even got to put in our two cents worth.  We also received our race shirts, and some people received fundraising prizes.  Yesterday I received three things.

My new race shirt

My brand new piece of purple attire is in my hands and ready to be decorated.  This is how it looks now:

And this is how it might look on race day, unless I receive more donations...

The names on the front represent all the people who have made donations this year; the ones in red have donated $100 or more.  The names on the back are my honourees.  I am running in memory of my friend Emru, who passed away from AML in 2008.  I am also running in tribute to Cyane, who is a five-year-old survivor of ALL.

My Extra-Special Shirt

When the prizes were awarded, I received the ever-coveted Superstar t-shirt!

This shirt is awarded to TNT participants once they reach a lifetime total of $10,000 in donations.  So that means that I get to wear this badge of honour thanks to you!  And that also means that you are responsible for all my Mary Katherine Gallagher impressions  ;).

A Special Gift

The third thing I received yesterday was a very special gift.  William Brock—cancer survivor and San Francisco teammate—is the author of a very special book about surviving cancer.  His book uses photography to tell stories of survival, and to illustrate what survival looks like.  It is meant to give hope to those who are still fighting cancer.  His beautiful book is available online (in both English and French) at www.portraitsofhope.ca, and the proceeds go to cancer research.  Cancer patients and survivors can contact him via the website.

Many thanks to those of you who have made donations to Team in Training!  It means such a great deal to so many people.  Thanks to you the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has been able to invest over 1.8 billion dollars in 2011 into various cancer related avenues, such as scientific research and patient support services.

If you have yet to donate, and wish to do so, you can find my TNT page here: http://bit.ly/SponsorReb.

Thanks again!

Rebecca