TOP 25!!

WOW! WOW! WOW! Friends, we are just weeks away from the BIG event! We just learned this week that TEAM WILLDU is among the Top 25 fundraisers in the COUNTRY for the Nike Women's Marathon!! Can you believe it? And, our friend Sherry is in the Top 25 too!!

We've got a BIG Saturday ahead of us! We're walking 22 miles this weekend - oh, mama!! I earned some fabulous blisters on our 20 mile walk 2 weeks ago - so, I'm better prepared for this training! The closer we get, the more excited we all are. We've been working on this so long, and you've been with us on this amazing journey!! We're ready to see (and CROSS) the finish line! YIPPEE!!

GOAL, update, etc.

WOW! First of all, my apologies for going SO stinkin' long without an update! Needless to say, life has been a skosh crazy! Right after my last post, I headed to Michigan to see Mom, Tom, and the "girls" (Molly & Lily). The weather & scenery was sooooo incredible. What a fantastic place to walk!! Much prettier than the track at Lake Hefner. We spent A LOT of time working on our August letter. We hope you enjoyed it & gained some good insight into Leukemia stats!

Now we're both back in Oklahoma, still training, still raising money and trying to balance life! For me, work has been crazy - in a good way! Just honestly never been busier, cranking out contracts for new customers! YEAH!

Last week we hit a MAJOR milestone!!! We reached our $20,000 goal. I think we screamed for about 10 minutes that day! Seriously - we couldn't do this without each one of you!! Your generosity inspires us! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

We're already talking about next year! And the exciting thing is, so are some of you!! We are so thrilled that several of you are interested in walking next year!! We promise, it's addicting!

RECOMMITMENT!!!

No, we're not being "committed", but mom & I did fill "officially" recommit to the Nike Women's Marathon (an official part of the process). This is SO exciting!! It's so REAL now! We're thrilled that our "Honey" (my grandmother) is going with us. For those of you who are "in the know", you know that mom, Honey, and I are very close! We're blessed to have each other & it wouldn't be the same without there in San Francisco as we cross that finish line! We're also BEYOND pumped that our dear sweet friend Sara Swanner Northwood & her darling sister-in-law Janet Swanner (our honoree Stephen Swanner Jr.'s mom) will be coming to San Francisco to cheer us on! We cannot begin to tell you how much this means!!

If you're on our growing mailing list, you'll be getting an update letter from us next week. Mom wrote it (my apologies for the length - ha!). There truly is so much that we want to share with you (our gratitude, appreciation, VERY IMPORTANT stats about leukemia).

I can't believe that 2 months from now, we'll be finished!

Let me close this with 2 HUGE thank yous: First - THANK YOU to Stephen Swanner Jr. for being our honoree and allowing us to share his story and fight with this horrible disease with each of you. You are our HERO and INSPIRATION!
Second - to each and everyone of our friends and supporters! We couldn't do this without your financial support, emotional support, encouragement and prayers!

Thank you , thank you, thank you!

I'm about to board my last flight to Michigan! I finally get to visit Harbor Springs. Mom has enjoyed some fabulous weather while training for Nike. (Our Oklahoma team has had to battle the nasty Oklahoma weather - heat & humidity!). I'm looking forward to walking with mi madre (and playing with my "sisters" Molly & Lily (yorkies).

Blessings, Jennifer

Oy with the heat already!

Wowzer - where did the heat come from? Mom is enjoying the 58 degree mornings in Harbor Springs - FABULOUS for training. While in Oklahoma...it's almost 80 by 6:30 in the morning. Oh well, to quote Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) from Vacation, "It's all part of the experience." I'm on the road again this week, so I get to try another hotel treadmill in the morning. Considering how small this town is, I'm just grateful they have a gym!

Yesterday we reached a huge milestone...81% of our fundraising goal!

We couldn't do it without all of our amazing friends & family. Thank you for helping us make a difference!!!

Only 6 miles?

This Saturday at training, we'll walk 6 miles. Last week it was 12. Monday at work, two of my marathon teammates (Shea & Patty) & I were commenting on the fact that we're "only walking 6 miles" this Saturday. Then we laughed & thought back to our first day - 2 miles. Then we thought about the first time we walked 6 miles - now we're up to 12. Who knew 6 miles would feel like a cake-walk?!
We met with our CEO this week to ask for a corporate sponsorship. As we discussed the "who, what, when, why, where" of the marathon & the cause, I realized how committed & passionate the 3 of us were about this. We talked about our honorees and how fortunate we feel to have our own good health. Some days during those long runs/walks we focus on our honorees and the struggles they went through (chemotheraphy, bone marrow transplants, etc). That kind of battle puts a little blister on your foot or a pulled muscle all into perspective.
Thanks to research, the survival rate of children diagnosed with leukemia & lymphoma has increased almost 30%!! The money we raise for this event (and other Team in Training events) goes toward research. LIFE SAVING RESEARCH!! Thank you to all of our dear friends & family for your financial support, emotional support, and prayers. We couldn't fight for a cure without you!!!

Walking just got more fun!!!!!!!

Just a quick blurb today! Mom & I are both walking like crazy - of course, Mom gets the great Michigan weather & scenery right now. I'm trying to cram training in between work, church, life, etc. I must share with you the funny thing that happened last Saturday at training. Actually - I'll give you the nutshell version. A cute (and younger) man...all of 30 years old, began to follow me along the Lake Hefner Park trails while I was walking. This started at about mile 7 and continued until about mile 10.5 - that's when I finally talked to him. He had been smiling & waving at me. I thought he must be crazy because I was sweaty, no make-up, and hair in pig-tails! But, he told me I thought I was cute just "chicking along" while I walked. I'm just glad I wasn't belting out some song from my iPod!! We chatted for a few minutes (I couldn't stay long - I didn't want to lose my pace!), phone numbers were exchanged, so...we'll see. Nevertheless, it made my day!!

New shoes, postcards, etc...

Sorry it's been a while since the last message! Lots going on! Mom (Candy) got out our "July Update" postcard! We just wanted to let everyone know how the fundraising & training is going! It's starting to warm up, so our Saturday trainings are starting early. Is it fun to get up at 5am to walk 12 miles? I'll admit, I (Jennifer) can be a little grouchy - after all, I have an "8am" rule. That is...I don't love to talk before 8am. I'm getting over that - I have to! Last Saturday, I walked with my teammate, Sherry Furseth. Mom recruited her & she's doing great! She is really raising some great $$ & awareness!

We're excited - we reached 60% of our fundraising goal this morning! Don't forget, you can still give! Either online, or you still mail it in!

One of the great benefits of participating is the support you get from TNT vendors. I was recently fitted for some new walking shoes & they ended up feeling like large clown shoes (not good). So, I went back to OK Runner (in Norman) where the wonderful owner, Gus helped fit me with some WONDERFUL new shoes! I mean this puppies really give me a new spring in my step! They're even cuter than the last pair! Don't get me wrong, you want the shoes to feel good, have the right support, etc - but it helps if they're cute! And they are! Check them out (see picture above left!)

As always, thank you for your AMAZING SUPPORT! We couldn't do this without all our friends!