**I was beyond excited when Kirsten approached me with this idea! As you may know, I participated in Team In Training for my first (and only!) 1/2 marathon a few years ago. I walked most of it, but it was the most awesome and rewarding experiences in my life. –Melissa**
From Kirsten:
Hi everyone! I have some exciting news that I want to share with everyone. As some of you may know, my husband and I participated in the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco last month. (We ran the
half marathon.) You can read about my experience here. It was so fabulous that I all I could
think about was doing it again next year with my sisters at Shrinking Jeans. The motivation that I received from them allowed me to finish
my race running the whole way. And I didn’t think I could do it.
The Nike Women’s Marathon is sponsored by The Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society. That means that their program Team In Training which helps raise money for LLS while training for an endurance event such as a marathon (or half), triathlons, century bike rides, and hiking adventures. The presence of the purple shirts worn by TNT participants was huge. Every where I turned there was a purple shirt. The whole way of the 13.1 miles there were TNT coaches and mentors on the sidelines cheering their team on. It made
me smile every.single.time.
After we got home I started thinking how great it would be to have a Shrinking Jeans team for TNT. I ran the idea past Lissa and Christy and they agreed. So I went on a mission. TNT has a virtual training program. Since the sisters (and brothers) are from all over the country I thought this was the best avenue to pursue. I contacted the virtual TNT and found out that yes, we can train through the virtual program. They offer all the benefits of participating in a local chapter of TNT but it is conducted online. How perfect is that? Since we are already motivating and encouraging one another through the SJ website and through our blogs, this could be an extension of
that.
So my question to you is, how many people would be interested in participating in a marathon or half-marathon next year as part of a Shrinking Jeans team? I wanted to take a poll of those interested to find out which event we could have the highest number of participants at. There are many races throughout the year. We were thinking that maybe one of their June events would be best because of kids’ school schedules, but we are open to whatever the majority wants to do.
There is a list of the races that VTNT participates in here.
I want to be open about the commitment you would be required to make. Not only would you be committing to training for and completing the race, but there is also a minimum fundraising amount that must be met in order to be part of TNT. The smallest amount required to fundraise is $3500. But I believe that as a team we could help motivate each
other to meet these goals.
I have been in contact with Virtual TNT and they are extremely supportive and willing to work with us as a team. I would appreciate
feedback from those interested in participating. (You can email me or contact Melissa or Christy at
SJ) I believe that we will get so much out of this experience if you choose to take this leap. My husband and I will be participating in the Nike Women’s Marathon again next fall whether or not we do it as a
SJ team. It was that powerful of an experience. So who’s with me?