Racing to Save Lives
Hi there!!
Welcome to my Team In Training home page. Thank you for taking time during this busy holiday season to visit.
I decided to join Team in Training for multiple reasons but they all center around one person, Auntie Junet.
Two years have passed since we lost Auntie to lymphoma. She had leukemia for almost 10 years but it was only during the last two years of the disease that it became lymphoma. The lymphoma started just after I began my two year service in the Peace Corps. Auntie made the decision she would live to see me finish my service, no matter what. When the doctors told her she only had three months to live, she said "I'm not going anywhere until Britta finishes her service."
Junet Runbeck's life was defined by her faith in God and her inner strength. Her determination to live meant that when she was 90 years old she started radiation and when that didn't work, chemotherapy. Eventually, the tumors in her throat prevented her from getting the nutrition she needed to live and she went on a feeding tube. However, her will to live gave me the time to complete my final project in Benin and my service and see me come home to care for her.
Two months after my return, Auntie lost her battle with lymphoma. Joining Team In Training isn't just about finding a cure to blood cancers, its about remembering Auntie and all the ways she impacted every step of my life and the lives of others.
Joining Team in Training is also about choosing to live with her same dedicated passion. Junet Runbeck dedicated her life to helping others. Her students, her friends and her family were all recipients of her love and dedication. I know she would be proud of my decision to do what I can to reach out to others who are currently going through the pain she experienced or the loss I felt, and continue to feel, at her passing.
It has now been four months since I first started training. During these four months, I have run farther than I ever imagined possible. I have made incredible friends and I have, in fact, been able to comfort and empathize with others who are going through the grieving process.
Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my website and learn about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. My fundraising goal is $4,400. I’ve now run over 13 miles, but 26 miles will still be a challenge. This season has been difficult and I've had some injuries but I face this challenge with the same dedication that Auntie faced her cancer. With your support, I know I will reach my goal and I'm almost there!
We all want a cure to cancer and we need to do our part to make it happen. Please join me.
Sincerely,
Britta Runbeck
