3rd Annual Alliance Against Cancer

On Sunday, September 12th, the NH Athletic Alliance held the Third Annual Alliance Against Cancer 5K and it was a huge success.  The number of runners continues to grow every year and this year, we were thrilled to see so many family and old friends present.  Two of my former high school track teammates were there and did awesome - BJ finished third overall and Kristi won our age group!  We also had many family participants - my sister Kathleen ran (more on that later), as well as Alison and Seth, and Natalia, just a few weeks shy of delivering her third baby, walked the 5K pushing Nolan and Lucia in the stroller!  Uncle Chip, Aunt Denise and Aunt Sylvia were also there to cheer on everyone.  Elizabeth ran the kids race, along with Nolan and Emily from NH.  And our amazing friends and family helped make us the top fundraiser for the second year in a row - donations were literally rolling in while we were driving up to New Hampshire on race morning, it was great!  Thank you so much to our friends and family for making this race such a success (more than $10,000 raised overall) and for supporting a truly wonderful cause!

Seth, Kathleen, Alison, Maureen, BJ, Kristi and Chris pre-race - MHS classes of '80, '92, '93, '95 and '01 represent! 

David addressing the runners prior the start. 

Maureen near the finish - my sister Kathleen is about four runners back.  I point that out, not to brag that I beat her, but in sheer humiliation.  Kathleen is training for the Chicago Marathon and ran 22 miles less than 24 hours before this race.  She then caught me around 1.5 miles and proceeded to yell at me encourage me to pick up the pace, berate cheer me into running faster, finishing hard, etc.  Thanks to her, I had a new PR (24:39).  I had a kick at the end that allowed me to pass her, but she is, quite simply, a rock star.  Superwoman.  Unbelievable.  Oh yeah, and 13 years older than me.

Natalia finishing the walk, pushing Nolan and Lucia.

Elizabeth and Emily from NH, pre-race.

Elizabeth, coming down the home stretch!

Nolan, finishing up his first race. 

Emily and Elizabeth with their (chocolate) medals.

Maureen and Kristi - we finished second and first, respectively, in our age group.  In the spring, we will be teammates again when, along with Alison and 9 other women, we participate in an overnight, 200 mile relay together!

One Week to Go

A week from today is the third annual Alliance Against Cancer 5K in Manchester.  You still have time to sign up to run or walk and can also sign up at Milly's Tavern on the morning of the race.  There is also still time to donate - we were the biggest fundraisers for this event last year but so far, I am falling short of my goal.  Thank you to everyone that has donated so far - and for those of you that still want to donate, click here or on the link on the ride side of the page.  Thanks!  And see you Sunday!!

Alliance Against Cancer

The third annual Alliance Against Cancer 5K will be held one month from today, on Sunday, September 12th.  This road race was created by David and Cheryl's former running club, the Athletic Alliance, in honor of David's love for running and his ongoing battle.  This year's event will include a 5K walk and run, as well as a little kids' race (400 meters).  I am running the 5K again this year and Elizabeth is excited to run the kids race.  We invite you to join us - running, walking, kids race and/or cheering - on Sunday, September 12th at 9am at Milly's Tavern in Manchester, New Hampshire.  Click here to register for the 5K.
The race organizers have against challenged participants to raise money for patient services and cancer research at Dartmouth Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center, located at CMC in Manchester.  If you would like to contribute, please click here - no amount is too small or too big.  Thanks to those of you who have already donated and who will donate in the coming month and to all of our friends and family who will be joining us on September 12th!

Ethan and Elizabeth show off their ribbons after the 2009 kids race.

2nd Annual Alliance Against Cancer 5K

On Saturday morning, we traveled to New Hampshire to participate in the second annual Alliance Against Cancer 5K.  Although the conditions were less than ideal - it was pretty much pouring the entire time - there was a great turnout, including many of New Hampshire's elite runners, which made for a fast field.  It was a great day for the LeBlanc family in so many ways: Lee's father was able to publicly thank his sister (Aunt Emily) for being his bone marrow donor and he fired the gun to start the race; I ran my personal best 5K time, by almost a minute; Aunt Emily ran a great 5K and Lee's mom finished the 5K walk strong; Elizabeth ran her first ever kids race (with her BFF Ethan); and we were recognized for raising the most money for the Norris Cotton Cancer Center.

Thank you so much to everyone that donated - we really appreciate it.  And a special thanks to the Boucher Family - Janet, Kevin, Ethan and Owen were such great sports, braving the rain - they were so great cheering as I finished.  Ethan "the one shoe wonder" ran his first ever kids race too and he and Elizabeth had a great time hanging out.  Ethan really sprinted his heart out in the kids race, even though he lost one of his shoes only steps into the race - clearly, his parents are raising him to finish what he starts!!!

At the start - Grampy and Aunt Emily with Christine, the brains and energy behind the road race.

Grampy fires the starting gun.

Elizabeth and Ethan compare numbers - even the kids got race numbers.

 

Maureen at the finish (25:04 is my new PR - which I will try to lower at my next 5K, in less than two weeks!)

Janet captured this great action shot of the start of the kids race.

Ethan is in the middle and Elizabeth is rounding the corner.

Ethan and Elizabeth showing off their blue ribbons.

Aunt Kathy and Emily (Emily refused to run the kids race, even with Auntie Kathy)

Sharon, one of my high school track teammates, was the 7th woman to finish and the first in our age group!

Our trophy for raising the most money.

"Walk With Me"

One week from tomorrow is the second annual Alliance Against Cancer 5K.  For those of you that don't remember from last year, this road race was created by David and Cheryl's former running club, the Athletic Alliance, in honor of David's love of running and ongoing battle.  This year's event will include a 5K run and walk, as well as a kids race.  I will be running the 5K and Elizabeth is planning to run the kids race, while Emily and Lee plan to be among the many spectators.  We invite you to join us - running, walking, kids race, and/or cheering - on September 12th at 9 a.m. at Milly's Tavern in Manchester, New Hampshire.  
This year, race organizers have challenged all participants to raise money to benefit the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at CMC in Manchester - inviting friends, famiy and co-workers to "walk with me" by donating to this great cause.  We are up to the challenge.  We will be collecting checks (made out to the Norris Cotton Cancer Center) right up through race start time - no amount is too big or too small. Thanks in advance to everyone that has already donated, to those of you that will donate in the next week and to all of our friends and family who will be joining us on the 12th!

Grampy - taking in last year's race festivities.

Grampy with Christine, one of the race organizers.

Alliance Against Cancer

David and Cheryl's former running club, the New Hampshire Athletic Alliance Running Club, held its first ever 5K to honor David and his current health battle. It pulled the race together in less than six weeks - here is a quote from the registration materials that gives a good indication why:
"As a team we have been directly affected by the toll that [cancer] has on its victims. Our teammate and coach, Dave Leblanc, has been fighting his battle with cancer for the past 6 years. Dave has been a member of Athletic Alliance since 1981. Since that time he has given many hours to our training. He has been a source of support for us as we have become better runners. He has the ability to make strangers comfortable and most would now consider him a friend. We now give him our support in his hardest fight yet."
The Alliance Against Cancer was held this past Saturday and the extended LeBlanc family was out in force! My sister Kathleen ran with me (after running 10 miles earlier that morning!) and Lee's cousin Alison and her boyfriend Seth also ran. There cheering us on were Lee and the girls, David and Cheryl, Mom and Dad, Peter, Aunt Denise and Uncle Andy and Aunt Melissa. My goal was to finish (I haven't done a 5K in more than eight years) but I ended up running my fastest 5K ever (all the credit goes to Kathleen for that!) - under 27 1/2 minutes!! More importantly, the race raised a ton of money for the Norris Cotton Cancer Center in Manchester in David's name. Click here for the link to our race album. Many of the pictures, below, were taken by my brother-in-law Peter. Thanks!

Kathleen and Maureen The LeBlanc cheering section
Alison heads for the finish Alliance members chatting with David and Cheryl and Lee (below). Cheryl and Lee

David and Cheryl during the post-race festivities.

David with Christine, one of the primary race organizers, and the fundraising money.

Emily, Lee and David