Lost Brother

I want to wish all of my TNT brothers and sisters the best of luck in this weekend’s Philadelphia Marathon. As a 10 year survivor living with chronic leukemia and TNT triathlon coach, I deeply appreciate all that you are doing in support of the mission and applaud the giant steps you are taking in physical and emotional growth by expanding your horizon and your comfort zone. You all have your reasons for racing on Sunday. Some are more personal and close to home than others, but every reason matters.

The beauty of working with this organization is that it connects you with some amazing people, all of whom are committed to eradicating blood cancers. There is strength in our numbers but sadly, we sometimes lose a precious life in that battle. We lost one yesterday in Marshall Jensen. Marshall hailed from Utah but Philadelphia was his second home when it came to treatment therapy and was a close friend to LLS and the HEADstrong Foundation.

While I only knew Marshall for a couple of short years, I very quickly saw the light in his spirit, the fight in his soul, and the love in his heart. Marshall was one of us. Marshall was a soldier in this war who saw his share of battle. Marshall is pain free and can now rest. But the rest of us will not. A loss like Marshall’s only fuels our resolve to make this stuff go away.  And rest assured that Marshall’s memory and his “reason” will keep us all moving towards our common goal.

I will also be racing on Sunday, wearing my black “SURVIVOR” shirt and my Stand up 2 Cancer buff. And now I will add the words “For Marshall” on the back of my shirt. So, TNT family, my ask of you is to simply please add Marshall to your many reasons for racing. Please keep Marshall and his beautiful family in your thoughts as we all forge on to try to make a different in the crazy world. I think it’s safe to say that Marshall thanks you for all that you are doing in this fight.

See you Sunday. #GOTEAM #BERELENTLESS