Feb. 24--Leukemia changed Amy Gustafson's life forever at 17 when her mother passed away from the blood cancer.
Now, she will help change the lives of others when she runs 13 miles in June in the Rock 'N' Roll Seattle Half Marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. Teams in Training around the country are running, biking or hiking to raise funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma from taking more lives.
In a unique twist on the story, Gustafson will be 43 in June, the same age her mother, Barbara Bolan, was when she lost her life to leukemia.
"For the rest of your life, you have no role model," Gustafson said. "But she would be proud of me. She was diagnosed when I was 10 and given five years to live. She lived seven."
She is also running for Mollie King, one of Team in Training-Augusta's honored heroes.
Four-year-old King was diagnosed with pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia on June 17.
Gustafson and Team in Training-Augusta train five days a week in preparation. It is a major lifestyle change for Gustafson, who has never considered herself a runner.
The half marathon in Seattle will be the second she has participated in for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The first was the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, Tenn., in April 2008. She said when she started training for that one, she could not run a half mile before stopping to rest. But, she progressed each week and finished the half marathon without having to stop once.
"I never thought of myself as a runner," Gustafson said.
"That's what makes it so fun. I ran track in high school, but it wasn't distance. You just teach yourself to do it. I had to work my way up. It really is life-changing. It is a personal commitment that you're going to run this race. If I get tired, I think this can't be as bad as chemo; this can't be as bad as a port in my chest."
She holds dear a quote by author George Sheehan, who wrote "Running to Win: How to Achieve the Physical, Mental and Spiritual Victories of Running": "It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually, you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit."
Gustafson is raising $4,300, the amount required to participate. Seventy-five percent of the funds go directly to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help find a cure. The remaining 25 percent goes toward coaches, registration fees and travel to the event. All donations are 100 percent tax deductible.
To donate, visit www.pages.teamintraining.org, or drop a check in the mail made out to LLS, c/o Amy Gustafson, P.O. Box 2745, Aiken, SC 29802.
-----
To see more of the Aiken Standard or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.aikenstandard.com/.
Copyright (c) 2009, Aiken Standard, S.C.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.