In Loving Memory of Ben Strauss

It has been one year since I signed up for my first Team in Training fundraising event for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It was so rewarding and life-changing that running marathons and fundraising for Team in Training is now an important part of my life. After completing both the NJ and Marine Corps Marathons in 2007, I have committed myself and my time to be a mentor for the team and run in the San Diego Rock-N-Roll Marathon on June 1st, 2008.

I am dedicating and running this marathon in loving memory of Ben Strauss, an extraordinary, kind and loving man, and a dear member of our family. Ben recently lost his brave battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. By completing this event in Ben's honor, I hope to help keep his beautiful spirit alive in our hearts and minds.

I have chosen this next event in San Diego at the urging of my family who have been my cheering section at every event and have been inspired by my participation in Team in Training. Aunt Margie, Uncle Bill, Uncle Jeff and Cousins Allie and Steven Strauss live in San Diego and Jeff and I along with our 3 children are thrilled about visiting with them. Our son David is also anxious to challenge his Uncle Bill to a chicken wing eating contest...Sorry David, you don't have a chance!


              Vacation in Hawaii, August 2007

Our children are all helping me fundraise in their own way. Our oldest, Melissa, is an aspiring singer and songwriter who will be offering her new CD online with proceeds being donated to Team in Training. You can hear her tunes by visiting www.myspace.com/melissasperber.

Our son David is so supportive that he has decided to help me with my fundraising for this event as part of his community service requirement for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah. The Rock-n-Roll Marathon is an especially fitting event since David is an awesome guitar player and a huge fan of classic rock.

Jillian, our youngest child, created a fundraising poster and walked the parking lot with me at Giant's Stadium to collect donations from the awesome football fans who were there tailgating before the Giants-Patriots game. The response was generous and overwhelming!

My husband Jeff supports me in everything I do. To keep pace, Jeff now runs anywhere from 2-6 miles a day on the treadmill. He has lost almost 40 pounds and has improved his own health exponentially!

We are fundraising as a family team. I am blessed to have the support of my amazing husband and 3 children. For this next event we are Team Sperber for Team in Training! There are many ways to help us with our fundraising goal. For more information please visit www.runningonlove.org.

Every five minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies. Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I'm completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

I hope you'll visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!