Running for a Reason

Roslyn Foy has been active on and off for most of her life, but she never would have called herself a runner. But all that changed last spring when she signed up for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon and started training for the Oct. 21 race. The race is sponsored by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, so by signing up to run, Roslyn also committed to raising money for the cause. In exchange for garnering at least $2,500 in pledges, Roslyn got the opportunity to work with Team in Training, a program run by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society that pairs would-be athletes with mentors and professional coaches to help get them ready for the race.

All signs point to this

In the past year, the 38-year-old Foy experienced some tough times. She separated from her husband, sold her house, moved into a new place and started a new job. During the transition, she exercised only sporadically and—not surprisingly—gained some weight. Then, something strange started happening: “I started seeing posters everywhere for the Nike race. I’d hear ads for it on the radio. I’d go on a Web site and see a banner ad for Team in Training,” she recalls. “I’m not that into omens, but I started to think: Maybe somebody is trying to tell me something!”

At the end of May she went to her first Team in Training meeting and signed up. Foy admits that her original motivations had a slightly selfish edge. “I knew that if it was just me going out there and trying to get in shape, I wouldn’t be able to do it. But knowing that people are giving me money for a good cause keeps me motivated.” And the more she learned about Team in Training and how it benefits blood cancer patients, the more sold she was on raising money and completing the race. She had watched as the family of a good friend struggled to scrape up money to get him treatment when he was sick. “That really struck me,” she says. “And that’s what TNT does—it helps the families.”

Taking the first steps

On June 9, Foy showed up for her first group run. Team in Training is open to athletes (and soon-to-be athletes) of all abilities, and the program attracts more than its share of beginners. “At our very first track run we were told to run one to three miles,” she remembers. Options are the name of the game, so that no one feels intimidated or incapable of completing a workout. Her group plans to gradually build up to a long run of about 10 miles during the months leading to race day.

Having a coach—and a specific training plan—also helped make Foy goal seem more achievable. All of the participants got a weekly calendar outlining exactly what workouts they should be doing each day. On Tuesdays, there’s a “buddy run” with other participants. Thursdays are track workouts with the coach. And every Saturday there’s a long run led by either the group’s coach or their mentor. “I could run three times a week with the group, and the coach told me what to do the other days of the week—including cross training and strength training,” Foy says.

A network of help

The main attraction of Team in Training is the support the group offers. In addition to receiving expert coaching, each participant is assigned a mentor—people who’ve been through the TNT experience themselves and who volunteer to help show newbies the ropes. Mentors are there to answer questions, brainstorm fundraising ideas and help keep participants and coaches connected. “The most important thing I can do is offer constant support,” says Patty Osorio-O’Dea, a TNT veteran who is now mentoring Foy and 10 other participants. “I check in and give them the encouragement they need to feel they can succeed.”

For Foy, working out with the group had a surprising benefit. “I was afraid people would make fun of me because I’d be the last one in every run,” she remembers. “But everyone is so encouraging, and they’re all cheering you on. I really liked that.” Being part of a team also turned running into a social event. And for Foy, who had recently divorced and moved to a place where she had few friends, finding kindred spirits made the experience that much more enjoyable. “The timing was perfect for me to get out and be social again,” she says.

Running into a roadblock

Just as Foy was starting to feel like a real runner, she fell prey to a real runner’s injury. In July, she was sidelined by knee pain that forced her to stop running. At the advice of her coach, Foy hit the gym and focused on moves—like squats and lunges—to strengthen her knee. For nearly an entire month, Foy skipped the group running workouts and tried to stay motivated on her own and not lose sight of her goal.

By mid August, she started to ease her way back into running by hitting the treadmill at a friend’s house a few times a week. “My friend hangs out and watches TV while I run,” Foy says. “We don’t even talk to each other, but every once in while she’ll look up at and say, ‘You go girl!’” Even with her friend’s encouragement, easing back into that first run was slow and still a bit painful. It took 50 minutes for Foy to cover 3.2 miles, using walking breaks every few minutes to build her endurance back up. “About the three-mile mark my knee starts to hurt a little bit,” she says. “My group is already up to seven miles, so I want to increase my mileage as fast as I can without hurting myself.”

A double goal

On August 21, two months before the race, Foy undertook yet another challenge: She quit smoking. “I had it in my mind that two months before the race I had to quit, so today’s the big day!” she says. She had attempted to quit once before—during her breakup with her husband—but she was under a lot of stress and the timing just wasn’t right. “This time I’m quitting for a more powerful reason,” she says. And she’s determined to be a successful non-smoker by race day.

She’s equally determined to make it across that finish line on Oct. 21—and not to let a busy schedule or a sore knee derail her goal. “It’s an ego thing now because I’ve told so many people that I’m going to do this race,” she says. “Even if I have to crawl across the finish line, I’m going to cross it!” While the event is called a “race,” Foy knows the only person she’s really competing with is herself.

Looking past the race

The big question for Foy is whether she’ll maintain her training regimen after she’s crossed the finish line. A few months into her training, she’s not convinced she’ll become a regular runner, but she is certain that she’ll stay active. “This experience has turned me into a person who really finds joy in exercise,” says Foy. “I’m actually getting a rush after a workout, so even if running doesn’t stay in my blood, I know I will keep exercising.”

“For the past few years I’ve been stagnant,” she says. “But now I’m moving. Literally.”