Runner Inspiration From Joan Benoit Samuelson

The night before the big event, each Team in Training participant is invited to a big "Inspiration Dinner".  They treat us like celebrities at this event!  Coaches, family, and staff cheer participants on as they enter the event on a red carpet.  We eat dinner together, and then are treated to some amazing speakers.  The inspiration dinner for the Nike Women's half marathon in DC was amazing!

Among the speakers was the President of the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.  She told us we raised over $6 million to fight cancer!  She also told us about some amazing advances the LLS is helping to fund.  Another speaker was an leukemia survivor, Anna Lynn.  I have heard her speak before at another TNT inspiration dinner.  She is a great speaker, very motivating and entertaining.  I was happy to hear her speak again.  The headliner of the night was Joan Benoit Samuelson!

Joan Benoit Samuelson and Shalane Flanagan

I am a bit embarrassed to say that I did not know who Joan was until that evening.  As much as I love to run, I don't know much about the history of women runners.  Joan gave us a quick list of her running accomplishment--wow!  She is amazing! Joan entered the Boston Marathon as an unknown in 1979 and won!  She was the first ever women to win a gold medal as an Olympic Marathoner in Los Angeles 1984.  She has won her age group at the Boston Marathon in five different decades.  I could go on and on!  Joan is also a wife, mom, running coach and author.

What I liked best about Joan and her speech was how supportive she was to women runners of all ages.  She told us the best way to share our love for running and for life was to share our stories.  She said "Your stories move us all...Keep telling them for miles and miles to come".  I love this!  This is why I started this blog in the first place.  I though I had a story to tell.  I hoped that telling my story would move someone else to run, to get healthy.  I would like to thank Joan for inspiring me, and I would like to thank Team in Training for giving me the opportunity to hear her speak!

A dream is a wish...

--Amy

Team in Training Inspiration Dinner

Our coaches!

It is a Team In Training tradition to have an inspirational dinner the night before the big event.  This is a time to celebrate and think about the reason we are together.  We think about those we have lost, and we celebrate those we have saved from all of the funds we worked hard to raise.  This is always a emotional event.

My team met together in the hotel lobby and we walked together to the Moscone center, the site of the inspiration dinner.  In true TNT fashion, event participants enter the venue in a "red carpet" welcome.  All of our staff people, coaches, family and fans line the walk way to cheer, scream, howl, blow whistles and bang tambourines in what we call the "heros parade".  This moment always overwhelms me.  I am uncomfortable being called a "hero", although to the people we help, I guess we may be.

The place mats at the tables.

The meal was typical--pasta, meatballs, salad and rolls.  What as special were the speakers.  Again, in true TNT fashion, we got a visit from the "penguin", AKA John Bingham.  John is know as the most famous runner who never won a race.  He told us lots of funny stories about running--most of which we all could relate too.  He told his famous "bite me zone" story that most runners experience some time during their race.  This is a TNT classic.  Our coaches always warn us about the bite me zone.  If you are having a really tough time and want everyone to leave you alone, all you have to say is "bite me zone".  Coaches and Teammates know that this means to leave me alone!

We also had the pleasure to listen to a very special girl name Annalyn.   A few years ago, she was a graduate student and began to not feel well.  She went to the doctor.  In less than 12 hours, she was told she had Leukemia and began chemo.  After some set backs, she is now is remission.  Annalyn told us that she is in remission because of advancement made by the LLS.  She told us that 20 years ago, she would be dead.  She then thanked us for all we have done.  Annalyn and her family formed a huge fundraising team and were going to participate in the event with us.  Hearing Annalyn really touched me. She showed me that I really was making a difference.  That all the fundraising I had worked so hard on really served a purpose.

The president of the LLS in Canada also talked to us.  She told us about some really important research programs the LLS is funding.  There is a drug that is so promising,  a big name drug manufacturer is going to spend a billion dollars to fast track it's FDA approval.  Wow!  A few million raised by US turns into a BILLION dollar drug that could lead to a CURE.  Simply amazing!

A dream is a wish...

--Amy