Training To Keep Leukemia On The Run

By Jan Howard

Terry Holmes is forever thankful for the good health that has been enjoyed by members of her family and herself. However, the suffering and challenges of some friends who are ill has moved her to volunteer to run the 26.2-mile Dublin, Ireland, marathon on October 29.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program, which Ms Holmes has joined, is a comprehensive endurance training program for runners, walkers, and cyclists to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She is one of an estimated 30,000 people who will participate in a marathon, century ride, or triathlon. They are expected to raise $82 million.

In addition to her friends, Ms Holmes will also be running for Daniel Nemec, 8, of Watertown, who loves baseball, golf, basketball, video games, and Lego. Daniel has T-Cell ALL.

Ms Holmes is beginning to send out letters to friends and family to seek their help in achieving her raising the $5,000 goal set by the society. She has sent out 50 of the 150 letters suggested by the society.

“I’ve only just started, but the response has been good,” she said this week. “People at my gym and work have been very supportive.”

 She has also begun training for the run. This is the first time she has ever run in a marathon, and it is a challenge she is determined to meet.

“How can you not do something? Think of the challenges Daniel has every day,” Ms Holmes said.

In her letter, Ms Holmes writes, “My challenge of running a 26-mile marathon pales in comparison with the challenges that Daniel and many other children face every day of their young lives.”

“I thank God that everyone in my family is healthy. We have been so incredibly blessed with good health,” she said. “But four people, near and dear friends to me, have suffered from leukemia and cancer, and two have died.”

During her marathon run, she said, “I will be celebrating their lives, even as I celebrate my own.”

In her letter she states, “And so it seems to me that running the marathon is something like the words to the song ‘Dreams’ by The Cranberries that I play really loudly before my solo runs: ‘Impossible to ignore… impossible not to do.’”

Ms Holmes said she believes leukemia and lymphoma research is “right on the edge of a cure.” The money raised in the marathon will help make a difference in how soon the cure is found.

Founded in 1949, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has allocated more than $100 million to research, patient services, financial aid, public and professional education, and community services. “It goes for research and for direct aid to families that need it,” Ms Holmes said.

 Seventy-five percent of the funds raised in the marathon go for research; the additional 25 percent is spent on other expenses. There is no personal cost to her for the trip to Ireland if she raises $5,000.

The goal of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is to significantly accelerate cures for leukemia and related cancers, such as lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and Hodgkin’s disease, and to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

It is estimated that leukemia and its related cancers strike some 107,900 Americans each year and kill 60,500, accounting for about 11 percent of new cases of, and deaths from, malignant diseases. It is hoped that with accelerated funding for research, all leukemia and related cancers will be curable early in this century.

Research is working. Twenty-five years ago, only five percent of children diagnosed with leukemia survived. Today, 73 percent of children with leukemia and 76 percent of those with Hodgkin’s disease will live.

Ms Holmes heard about the marathon from a friend who attended the first meeting in West Haven. “I called the next day to see if I could still participate,” she said.

Ms Holmes is taking her training seriously. “I’ve been running all over Newtown, more or less,” she said. She recently did one long run that began at Lake Lillinonah and ended there with a swim. “I jumped in. It was great,” she noted.

Ms Holmes has been a resident of Newtown for only a year and a half. “My horse lived here for 12 years,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed the bridle lands for many years.”

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society provides mentors and trainers for the runners, many of whom, like Ms Holmes, have never run a marathon before. Volunteer mentors are past participants who were successful with their own training and fundraising and support new team members.

Training for the marathon includes a schedule of group runs, either in West Haven or Litchfield, Ms Holmes said, and individual training. There are also seminars about nutrition.

“I can call them anytime,” she said. “They’re great about support. They help us in any way they can.”

Ms Holmes said she works running into all her activities. Beginning July 1, she began a 16-week countdown of disciplined training to build up to the marathon. She said she runs an average 20 to 25 miles a week. The training will peak at 40 miles with two 20-mile runs before the marathon, she said.

She said a 20-mile run would take her from her home on Parmalee Hill Road to Family Dental Care PC on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield, where she works.

“This is a most exciting time,” Ms Holmes said. “My first 20-mile run will be when I’m in Tuscany from September 20 to 29. I’ve very excited about it.

“Visiting Italy is something I’ve wanted to do all my life. What an opportunity this is. What better place to train than harvest time in Tuscany. Four weeks later I’ll be in Ireland.”

 To contribute to Ms Holmes’ marathon goal of $5,000, send checks payable to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to Terry C. Holmes, 29A Parmalee Hill Road, Newtown, CT 06470.