THANK YOU -- SOME RACE DETAILS & SOME LEUKEMIA FACTS

The Nation's Triathlon took place on September 14, 2008 in Washington, D.C. As you know, I participated, swimming 1500 meters (.9 miles) in the Potomac River, biking 40,000 meters (26+ miles) on the roadways of the District, and running 10,000 meters (6.2 miles) on roadways, finishing on Pennsylvania Avenue, with the Capitol Building in the background. I promised each of you that I would finish, and I did, in 3 hours, 5 minutes, just longer than the goal I had set for myself.
This race was not about me, however.

The important part of the race, and one which kept me going through 96% humidity and temperatures in the 90s, was that my purpose was to cure leukemia, lymphoma, and lesser known blood cancers. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society was the official charity of the Nation's Triathlon, and 700 of the participants were members of the Society's Team in Training (TnT). Those participants came from 56 chapters around the country, representing (I think), 46 states. Most important, Team in Training raised more than 3 million dollars for this event alone.

Your contributions, through me, totalled $8,985.00. This was the 11th highest total nationwide, and reflects contributions from 159 different people. I cannot thank you enough on behalf of those whose lives will be improved by your generosity.

In its 20th year, TnT has now raised more than $750 million for research, and for support of those stricken with cancer. In that time, successful treatments have increased the survival rate for the various forms of leukemia from about 14% to over 60%, and for lymphomas from about 31% to about 64%. My nephew, Michael Hirsch was not as fortunate. I know from the notes you have sent me, that many of your lives have also been affected by these diseases.
Much more detail on the work of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society can be found at www.lls.org .

Back to this race. I finished 1190 of 2400 finishers (faster than 51% of the field), 9th of 30 in my age group (Men, 55-59; faster than 70% of them). Our age group started 1:32 (hours:minutes) after the Elite participants, and next to last overall. As the heat increased, the entire back end of the field was slower than normal. My swim (35:57 min.) was good for me, the bike was an acceptable 1:17:14 hours (19.3 mph avg.), but the run 1:06:29 was nearly 2 minutes per mile slower than my normal pace. Nevertheless, I finished. So did all 17 of my TnT Connecticut teammates, including Art, age 65, who's cancer returned in the spring after a period of remission. 13 days later, Art completed a 100-mile bike event. 14 days after that, he completed the Hartford Half Marathon. Art is one of the many reasons why, when I was hurting on my run, I could say to myself: "You don't have it so bad. Keep going."

Another reason I kept going through the exhaustion was the commitment I made to all of you. And the commitment you made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Next year I will do another Team In Training event: Possibly a century (100 mile) bike ride around Lake Tahoe or elsewhere. I'll keep you all informed, and I hope that I can count once more on your support at that time.