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"Couples fell in love while training for marathons" (Read 288 times)

huskydon


    Article from Dallas newspaper about the Team in Training group, just in time for Valentines Day. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/healthyliving/fitness/stories/DN-nh_fetterman_0212liv.ART.State.Edition1.d3abf3.html Couples fell in love while training for marathons Team In Training fights leukemia and provides social life 11:41 AM CST on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Law professor Neil Sobol of Irving didn't know anyone affiliated with the Leukemia Society's North Texas Team In Training program when he joined in 2000. He knew no one with a blood-related cancer, either. He signed up with his law partner to run the Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska, to meet people and relieve stress. That was the first of more than a dozen marathons for Mr. Sobol, 45, whose training and social life now revolve around the organization. He's made lifelong friends and guided newcomers through positive, life-altering changes. Recently, he met and married Becky, a Team In Training runner. According to the Leukemia Society's North Texas office, many romances blossom in Team In Training, or TNT, the world's largest endurance sports training program. Team members bond as they share the agony of long training runs and the joy of achieving dreams. TNT is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Since 1988, the program has guided 340,000 people such as Mr. Sobol to the completion of an endurance event, and participants have raised more than $800 million for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. People join for all sorts of reasons, says Adine Bagheri, the local TNT director. "We have participants from all walks of life," she says. "They come for the personal training, weight control, camaraderie, the destination or endurance events, or ties with the cause. The common thread of whatever brought you to the program is that we'll help you reach your goals." The long hours provide opportunities to get to know teammates. Soul mates find each other. "When a group of people get up early on Saturday mornings and train together, you really start bonding with them," Mr. Sobol says. "You talk about things. You start developing friendships differently than you would at work. You hit gold a few times." Here are stories of couples whose relationships formed through TNT. Debbie Fetterman writes about fitness for Healthy Living. To share story ideas and favorite fitness activities, contact her at fitinthecity@dfwrunning.com. Going the Distance: Neil and Becky Sobol Neil and Becky Sobol each expected to spend life single. Neil was 44 and had yet to meet anyone with whom he would consider spending the rest of his life. Becky, 34, was divorced with three young daughters. She couldn't imagine anyone loving her and her daughters. The Sobols credit Becky's high school friend Kelly Bartholomew with introducing them. Kelly's son, Ethan, was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 2. Ethan's father joined TNT and ran on a team coached by Neil. Later, Kelly joined and also ran on Neil's team. She completed a couple of half-marathons. Her success inspired Becky to join TNT in August 2005 and train in honor of Ethan for the half-marathon at the Dallas White Rock Marathon. She was officially on Neil's team, but he didn't know her because she trained in Oklahoma. Kelly introduced Neil and Becky at Ethan's five-year remission party. Becky had just landed a job working as a bone marrow transplant nurse at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. She was moving to Dallas to be closer to family. Neil offered to help Becky move a truckload of belongings to her new place. "He helped me move, and he sort of never left," she laughed. Neil proposed at a dinner after a September training run at the team's Valley Ranch hangout, NY Pizza & Pasta. He had shared training tips and product samples with team members during the previous Saturday training, which Becky missed. That night, Neil talked about the importance of fuel belts, which hold fluids and energy replacement products around one's waist. He gave one to Becky. Then, he asked her to open a pouch. Inside, she found an engagement ring. The pair were married Jan. 19. Becky plans to train and raise funds for her first full marathon, the 2008 Anchorage Marathon. Neil hopes to be there cheering her on. Trying to keep up: David and Meg Burdette David and Meg Burdette became running buddies and then started dating. He proposed on this park bench at White Rock Lake. Meg Burdette joined TNT because a co-worker encouraged her to try it. She had never run a mile in her life, she says. She trained six months and walked her first marathon. Then, she trained another six months and ran her second. She says she was brimming with enthusiasm about TNT and marathoning when she met David at work in spring 2005. David, 33, had run one marathon on his own. He says he had no interest in running another until Meg recruited him to join TNT. "I told him there were lots of cute girls," Meg, 39, says. "I was not at all thinking that I would hook up with him." She worked with David's team, helping the first-time participants raise funds. She was one of the fastest women, and they ran at a similar pace. They became running buddies, and then started dating in October 2006. They ran Wellstone's Dallas White Rock Marathon together and became engaged at White Rock Lake on Dec. 22, 2006. "That seemed like the only place that would have been appropriate," David says. "That's where we got to know each other, when we first started talking about a future together. That's where we fell in love." The pair got married in a small, family wedding March 2, 2007. The next morning, they showed up for training and announced that they were married. "It seemed like a really natural progression on a short timetable," David says. Both have stayed involved with TNT. They ran seven marathons together in 2007, including White Rock. David is now a coach with TNT. Meg continues to help newcomers with fundraising. "We both feel this organization makes a difference in individual lives," she says. "We see lives changed when they run 6 miles or they walk a half-marathon." The Burdettes both have relatives with blood cancers, which makes their experiences more meaningful, they say. Healing with Love: Chris Henkel's story Chris Henkel and Maria Miranda Before November 2005, life was unfolding much as Chris Henkel of Carrollton had hoped. He had a loving wife, two healthy children, a good job and a nice home. His idyllic world was shattered that fall when his wife, Stephanie, was diagnosed with an aggressive stage four lymphoma. She underwent chemotherapy, spent 200 days in the hospital, mostly in ICU, and had blood transfusions and a blood marrow transplant from her brother. During that time, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society provided helpful information and support groups for both of them. Chris joined TNT in January 2006. In July 2006, doctors declared that Stephanie was in remission. She planned to join Chris in October at the Nike Marathon in San Francisco, where he had been asked to give a keynote address. She had become an honored hero, one who shared their story to help motivate runners to reach their goals and to understand how their fundraising efforts made a difference. Hope was short-lived. Complications arose in August, and Stephanie, 29, died on Labor Day 2006. Losing Stephanie was hard enough, but Chris also lost his mother and an aunt that fall. Running became his coping mechanism, helping to relieve mental and physical stress. Chris, 33, honored his commitment to speak and continues to speak locally and nationally on behalf of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Throughout Stephanie's illness, Chris worked, took care of the kids, managed the house and spent hours by Stephanie's side at the hospital. "It wasn't enough," he says. "I wanted to do something more. I wanted to have a direct impact, so I began fundraising. That's why I started running." Chris says he had always been active, but "running 3 miles was a painful struggle" when he started. From June 2006 through June 2007 he completed five full marathons and four half-marathons He benefited physically and mentally from the training. He also raised more than $25,000 in Stephanie's honor. Injuries sidelined him for a while. He resumed training, and he's become faster. He shaved more than an hour off his initial 4:24 finish in Anchorage and recently clocked a 3:16 at Houston. One of the first people he met when he joined TNT was Maria Miranda. She was one of the fastest runners on his first team in January 2006. He recalls being overjoyed that he completed his first 10K race, at the Fort Worth Cowtown event in February 2006. Maria beat him. Afterward, he said, his goal was to "try to keep up with her." "It was something to do, to take my mind off hurting," he says. "Since we ran at similar paces, we could run and talk. She was one of the many people who were really supportive and did a lot for my kids." Maria, 29, says she tried to help, but "I didn't want to seem like I was hitting on him." After Stephanie's funeral, the two continued training together on a TNT team. They became close friends. They didn't go out on their first date until February 2007. "We really hit it off," Chris says. "We were able to continue our conversations." Chris says he's protective of his children, and he didn't want them to get attached to someone until he knew the relationship would last. He proposed in September. Their wedding is Feb. 22. He said his children know Maria is not their new mother. "She's going to be a wonderful stepmom," he says. "She's going to help me raise them and love them. The kids and I are so blessed. After what we've gone through, God put Maria in our lives." On the Fast Track: Adam and Amber Rose ELIZABETH M. CLAFFEY/DMN Adam and Amber Rose Amber Rose of Plano, a former college volleyball player, lost her grandmother to a blood-related cancer. She joined TNT's triathlon program to honor her grandmother's memory and challenge herself. "Triathlon sounded pretty neat," she says. "There were enough aspects to keep me interested." Adam Rose, a cyclist, hadn't ridden in more than a decade. He started running to get in shape. Then, he heard from a co-worker that TNT had triathlon training. He figured he had two of the three skill sets. He didn't know anyone or have any personal connections with the cause. Amber and Adam, both 28, joined TNT at the same time but selected different events. Amber's shorter PlayTri Olympic distance event, which was in April 2007, meant shorter training sessions. Adam chose the most challenging event, the St. Croix half Ironman, which was in May 2007. For triathlon training, the team members met as a group for the swims, rides and runs. The groups then split up according to their respective training distances. Amber met and trained with Kellie Phillips, who also was training in memory of her grandmother. In the half Ironman group, Adam and Kellie's husband, Lance, became training buddies. So, after weekend training sessions, Kellie and Lance would meet for breakfast. They introduced Adam and Amber at an IHOP restaurant early in the season. Adam and Amber quickly discovered that they shared many coincidences and values. They had been working in the same office building and hadn't known it. They attended church and lived in the same areas. "Our lives crossed paths," she says. "I felt like that was exactly where I needed to be." The training helped them bond. "In triathlon, the training is intensive," Adam says. "It's a nice way to get to know someone." "We saw each other at our worst. We weren't very pretty after workouts, but we had plenty to talk about," Amber said. "We could talk for hours at a time. We complemented each other. Together, we make a good team." Competing locally was important to Amber. She wanted her family to share the experience with her. On race day, Adam joined her family on the sidelines. "They had a huge poster of my grandmother at the finish line," she says. "I didn't realize how much it would affect me emotionally. You can't put words to describe it." The next month, Amber joined Adam and his family in St. Croix for the Ironman event, which he finished. They celebrated the following day at the beach. During a beach volleyball game, Amber broke her leg. Getting home with a broken leg (held in place with a large elastic bandage) was hard enough, but once home, Adam and Amber had the emotional letdown of their races being over. And Amber went from being in the best shape of her life to being dependent. "It tested our relationship," Adam says. "It made us stronger in the long run." They married last fall, and are expecting a baby. "We joke that we do everything fast," Adam says. "We met and got married within a year. Now, we're going to have a baby, so we're continuing on the racing streak." They are still training, but they've modified the intensity. They plan to resume TNT events after the baby is born. "We forged some great friendships," Amber says of TNT. "And, it's a way for me to stay connected with my grandmother." ABOUT TEAM IN TRAINING TNT provides professional coaching, team members with whom to train and socialize, and transportation, lodging and entry fees for selected events. In exchange, members raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Participants register to train and participate in a specific event, ranging from a triathlon, to a 100-mile cycling event, a half marathon, a full marathon or hiking event. They're assigned to train with the group closest to their home. There are five North Texas groups. TNT provides fundraising support, tools and a personal Web page. •For details about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society North Texas Chapter's TNT programs, call 972-354-8326, 866-510-8326 or 817-708-0700 or see www.teamintraining.org/mail. Summer teams are forming now for many events. •The North Texas Chapter's Team in Training program is hosting a Last Chance Informational Meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at REI, 4515 LBJ Freeway, Farmers Branch. For details, call 972-354-8326 or see www.teamintraining.org/ntx.
      How romantic! Thanks for sharing Smile
      SteveP


        DW and I started hanging out when she helped me get ready for my first 12 mile race. Then her and three of the kids supported me during my first HM.

        SteveP

        btb1490


          Some very nice stories! Thanks for sharing!