Welcome to See Laura Run!

Greetings and welcome to See Laura Run! On May 7, 2006, I'll be completing the Adidas Vancouver International Marathon--yes, all 26.2 miles--with the New York City Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I have never been what you'd call an athlete. Not even close. As a kid, my most dreaded day of school each year was that of the notorious Presidential Fitness Awards 1-mile test, when getting a "satisfactory" in phys ed demanded booking it around a gravel track four times, lungs burning and matchstick legs turning to fettucine. In high school, I spent far more time keeping the benches toasty for the women's soccer team than anywhere near the actual playing field. Since those years on the sidelines, to stay healthy and ward off twentysomething scale creep, I've regularly yet often reluctantly dragged myself to my local New York Sports Club. There, I'd plod on the treadmill while compulsively switching channels on the attached TV monitor, desperately trying to distract myself with breakfast shows and Who's The Boss reruns. By the time I pushed "stop," I'd logged 30 minutes and 3 miles, yet gone nowhere. Yet this past December, at the urging of my friend Cara, I signed up to become a member of Team in Training and raise money for leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and myeloma while training for my first marathon. By this spring, with your support, I'll have raised $4,500 for blood cancer research and patient programs. I'll also have covered hundreds more miles than I would have if I were still in treadmill mode, forged a slew of friendships through the camaraderie of running endless loops of Central Park and Propect Park in lockstep during the New York City winter, and strode for 26.2 miles through ravishing Vancouver. Keep pace with me as I chronicle my own amazing race.