Season of Giving

Last year my youngest niece, Amélia, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). She was 2 years old at the time.

This was devastating news for our family, especially for my brother-in-law and his Slovakian wife who were living in Germany, far away from the support network that families usually provide each other. We all felt helpless, not being able to relieve them from days spent sleeping at the hospital, taking care of simple chores like grocery shopping or taking her siblings for the afternoon, and worst of all, we couldn’t be there when they simply needed a shoulder to cry on. The whole situation was out of our control and so Marcus Hale (my husband and yes - the Ironman guy!), set out to find another way to make a difference.

He decided to focus his energy on a long-term goal of his, something that was totally within his control and that would take his mind off of the situation for long periods of time. That goal is to finish all six of the World Marathon Majors. Having finished Chicago in 2012, Berlin in 2014, London in 2016 and New York in 2018, and with a slot already confirmed for Tokyo in 2020; I am excited to say that he will be running the 2020 Boston Marathon (the oldest in the world, dating back to 1897) to become a Six Star Finisher (of which there are only 6,401 in the world).

But this is much bigger than his own personal goal. He is running to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), an organization committed to curing leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improving the quality of life of patients and their families. Leukemia claims the lives of nearly 60% of people diagnosed each year.

The charity has already invested nearly $1.3 billion to date in groundbreaking research and recently launched the LLS Children’s Initiative, a $50 million multi-year investment specifically focused on treating paediatric blood cancer.

Our aim is to raise at least $50,000 towards their initiative. It’s a big goal, but means we can truly make a difference. By raising that amount, LSS will link Amélia’s name to a cutting edge, LLS funded research portfolio. This is our chance to honour her strength of character and the resilience of all the other children who continue to battle with this terrible disease and it is his way of saying sorry that Ujo (Slovak for Uncle) Marcus wasn’t there to help!

For my part, besides being the amazing spectahlete, I will be supporting Marcus in this super challenge by I’m sure a variety of different fundraising activities over the coming months…however if you can donate a few pounds now, please go here:

https://pages.lls.org/tnt/il/boston20/mhale

Thanks in advance and best wishes to you and yours for a happy and healthy holiday season.