Jeff Allen will tackle 26 miles in weekend event to benefit victims of leukemia and lymphoma, including himself.
By Laura Knowles
Published Oct 26, 2006 13:58
But Jeffrey Allen of Lancaster will run in the rigorous 31st Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., this weekend, at the same time he is fighting cancer.
An avid runner, Allen, 53, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1991. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphoid tissue, a part of the body’s lymphatic system.
Following treatment, Allen went into remission until 2003, when the cancer returned. He was doing well until the cancer reappeared in August.
Allen faces another course of chemotherapy in November. But first, he wants to run in one of the most prestigious marathons in the United States.
“I’ll be running with approximately 34,000 other runners in this one-day event. It will be grueling and exciting at the same time,” says Allen. “It means a lot to me.”
It will mean a lot to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, too. Allen will be running as part of Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training, which is a major fund-raising program of the society.
Allen is hoping to raise at least $5,000 — maybe more.
The Team in Training program trains people of varying fitness levels to run or walk a marathon, or half marathon, or to complete a 100-mile bicycle ride or triathlon, in order to reach a specific fundraising goal.
The “Team in Training” event is different than other fundraisers because there are “honor patients” who are paired with each volunteer runner, Allen says. The honor patients are survivors or victims of leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma — cancers that are related to blood and bone marrow abnormalities.
Usually, the honor patients cheer on the volunteers who are running on their behalf.
“I have the dubious distinction of being not only a past participant and new-member mentor, but I’m also an honor patient,” says Allen, who has participated in other Team in Training events in past years.
This will be his second full marathon, which runs a little more than 26 miles. He has run in several half-marathons, as well as Olympic distance triathlons, which include more than a mile of swimming, some 25 miles of cycling and a 10K run.
Allen decided to focus on running and in January participated in a marathon in Phoenix, Ariz. He was disappointed in his time, so he began to train intensely for the Washington event, which is often heralded as the “People’s Marathon” because it winds past American landmarks like the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Pentagon.
When Allen learned that his cancer had recurred, he was even more determined to run in the benefit marathon.
“I had a mission,” he says.
Since 1988, more than 295,000 volunteer participants have helped raise more than $660 million for research and patient services.
A registered nurse at Lancaster General Hospital’s Health Campus Surgical Center, Allen knows more about medicine that most people. When he was diagnosed, he was intent on learning everything he could about his illness. It made him even more focused on his volunteer work with Team in Training.
Allen will have plenty of people backing him as he runs. His wife, Mary, who works with the The Heart Group and is also a trained runner and cyclist, participated in the Marine Corps Marathon in 2001.
“She’ll be giving me moral support and cheering me on,” says Allen, who will be one of 11 marathoners from Central Pennsylvania.
According to Anne Adams, campaign manager for Team in Training, the Central Pennsylvania chapter raised nearly $1 million in 2005 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This year they are hoping to increase that amount.
Allen knows that it will be a big challenge. But he often wears a T-shirt that says, “You think running a marathon is tough? Try chemo.”
Anyone who wants to help Allen reach his goal can send a check or money order, payable to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, to: Jeffrey Allen, 104 River Bend Park, Lancaster, PA, 17602. For more information, check the web site at www.teamintraining.org.
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