Why did I join team in training?

My first introduction to team in training was when I happened to be in a bookstore looking for a hiking book. I was in the process of creating a "training schedule" to prepare myself for the Half Dome hike in Yosemite National Park. I had been invited to tag along with a few friends and I thought that the best way for me to increase my stamina and endurance on the trail was to gradually increase the difficulty of each hike. I had found the book 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles by Jane Huber and was interested in several of the hikes it described. As I was purchasing my new book, I saw a team in training brochure perched against the counter and I slipped it into my bag as I was leaving the book store.

To be honest, I was originally interested in joining TNT for selfish reasons. Enjoying hiking but not owning a car turns out to be quite the hassle. If I get the urge to go exploring, hike the trails, and be one in nature I'm out of luck because there's no public transportation to get me there. Joining team in training, I thought, would be a great way to get my hiking fix and train for my Half Dome Hike in August. I would go hiking every weekend, increase the length/elevation gain of each hike and I'd have a RIDE! How awesome is that?

But my reason for joining changed at the first informational meeting that I attended to learn more about joining the team and what I would be accomplishing by raising funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Although I was moved by the statistics associated with blood cancers:
An estimated 139,860 people in the United States will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma this year.Every four minutes one person is diagnosed with a blood cancer.An estimated 912,938 Americans are living with leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes.Every 10 minutes, someone dies from a blood cancer. That’s 146 people each day, or more than six people every hour.I was more moved by one man's story, an honoree participant named Matthew Parrott who had been diagnosed with a blood cancer. Listening to his triumphs, his struggles, and ultimately his remission and recovery was truly awe inspiring. After going into remission, Matthew joined Team in Training and ran a full marathon! That's 26.2 miles! The thing that touched me the most though was when Matthew said that the reason he was alive today was because 10 years ago a group of people, just like us got together to make a difference. They raised funds which sponsored the research that developed the medication that saved Matthew's life. He said that 10 years from now, some other cancer survivor would be standing in his place telling a group of people that it was us that funded important research or patient services that helped them. I really wanted to be a part of that.

I registered that very same night and there was no looking back. :)