North Carolina

Honored Heroes

Team Honored Heroes are very special individuals who have battled, or are battling, leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma.  They have agreeed to share their experience to inspire and motivate Team In Training participants.  TNT participants train for and complete a marathon, half marathon, century bike ride, or a triathlon in honor of these extraordinary people.

So often people are asked to raise funds for a charity with very little understanding of how valuable their efforts are. By honoring a member of our own community, and hearing their story firsthand, participants are able to understand the extreme value of their efforts.

A Mission Moment from Bethany Martin
Triathlete and Survivor
Pictured with her family at the Wilmington Triathlon finish line in 2011

Sometimes, when I question "why am I doing this to myself" I remember where I was just a year ago.  I was diagnosed with Stage IV non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma on March 29, 2010, just a couple months before my 27th birthday.  Cancer was never something I thought I would hear at my age (or any age), but here it was slapping me in the face.  I was newly married with two young daugheters (9 mos and 4 yrs) and I saw my whole life flash before my eyes in an instant.

I look back over the past year and see everything I've had to go through.  Months of chemo, radiation, and chemo injections into my spinal fluid, multiple weekly doctor appointments, and almost missing my daughter's entire first year of school.  Yet, here I am training for a triathlon.  WOW!  That was never even a thought before I was diagnosed.  Why train this hard when I could be doing something more fun?  So, why am I doing this to myself?

for my daughters
my husband
my parents
my brother
for other survivors who won their battle
for those that didn't
for the ones still fighting!

Because a year ago there was a chance I would not make it to today.  I have been given a second chance at life and I wont' spend it sitting on the couch at home.
I do it because I am alive, because I can.  I do it for ME!

If you would like more information on our honored teammate program, please contact Abby Miller, TNT Director, at abby.miller@lls.org or 704-705-1818.