Man on the Run

12 years ago, my friend Gretchen introduced me to a Canadian band called Captain Tractor and convinced me to go see them play in Eugene. It was that night in Eugene that I met one of my dearest friends Brock who just happened to be in the band. I made a fool of myself while doing the Kozatsky (Russian kick dance) to one of their songs and we instantly became friends. Even though Brock lives in Canada and I have lived in multiple cities over the past 12 years, we have remained good friends and geekily admit to playing a near daily online game of chess or scrabble. (which is why Addison refuses to play chess with me. 12 years of playing non stop can actually give someone an edge!)

From the moment Brock heard I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s, he has been a tremendous support system to me from afar. Brock has a lot of people in his life who are lymphoma survivors, and he has also lost family members to lymphoma and Leukemia.

In 2003 Brock started having heart troubles at the ripe age of 31 and was diagnosed with Myocarditis. Shortly after his diagnoses, he started training to run marathons somewhat under doctor's orders to prove to himself that he was okay. (Proving to myself that I am going to be okay is something I can completely relate to.)

Brock’s first marathon was in Oct 2007, The Royal Victoria Marathon. Since then he has run 7 full marathons, 4 half marathons, 2 triathlons, a couple 10 & 15ks and an Ironbike. He has raised, to date, $7,720.00 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada and donated countless volunteer hours as a mentor.

For over a year now, Brock has also been a run/walk coach in the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training® (TNT) . On June 6th, 2010 Brock will be once again running for a personal best at the San Diego Marathon. A personal best in speed AND in fund raising as a member of Team In Training raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC). So, he is asking friends and (I am asking my friends) to help by making a contribution! When you contribute, you are supporting LLSC’s mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Two years ago I told Brock I wanted to run a marathon with him, and then I got pregnant with Aurelia. So we postponed it to the next summer. Then I got diagnosed with Hodgkin’s. That now puts us out to summer of 2011. But I will run a marathon with him and I look forward to having Brock (and any other friends who want to join me) run it by my side.

Thanks Brock for being such an awesome friend to me and for having such great devotion to your cause.

To check out Brock’s donation page, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/brock-tnt