Reason for training.

I met Dillon about 4 years ago while working at Verizon Wireless. He seemed like he was the only cool person in that training class that I could talk to. I introduced myself to him and at the time, He thought I was very odd for doing that. You can ask him that today and he will confirm. I'm glad I did get the courage to speak with him on that day.

Our friendship has grown over the years. Him and I both have been through a lot and we have always been there for eachother. I felt a void in my life while he was serving his LDS mission. We kept in touch writing back and forth but it wasn't the same. It was always good to hear from him and to hear how things were going while he was serving.

I recall the day clearly when I listened to a voicemail he left me while I was on my way to work. Dillon explained to me that he would be coming home in a couple of days and that he was diagnosed with Leukemia. I will be honest, at the time I didn't know the severity of the situation. As I researched online I realized there was not yet a cure for what Dillon had. I never really worried too much about him because he has always been a strong person and he played it off with confidence that everything would be just fine.

A couple of weeks ago I called to check up on him and he said that he was not doing well. After our conversation I was about to send him a text letting him know that if he needed anything, I would be more than happy to help. At that time it hit me that I couldn't offer anything to help my friend in his time of need other than comfort.

I sat and I pondered and I felt completely helpless and it was a horrible feeling to have to sit back and watch a friend suffer. As I pondered, I remembered my Uncle running a Marathon for one of his friends who's life was taken by cancer. Although young at the time, I remember it having an effect on my life. The marathon was not about my Uncle but about his good friend and in honor of his good friend. He worked hard and raised money to help fight this disease and donated it all for finding a cure.

So as you can see, I have come up with the crazy idea to do the same thing for Dillon. I will be participating with a group called Team in Training. I will be running the Salt Lake City marathon on April 18th, 2009. I will be raising $1,700 that will be donated to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They will then use that money to help with finding a cure and helping cancer patients with the assistance that they need to fight this horrible disease.

I have an online fundraising website where you can join the fight against this disease. It only takes but a minute. I appreciate your time and your effort in joining this fight!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/slc09/kblackburn