Team Bun Bun is recruiting!

It was only 4 months ago that many of us gathered in a corner room on the 8th floor of Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital, surrounding our friend Rob Bundy. Recovering from his second bone marrow transplant to treat a reccurence of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), his eyelids were heavy from the morphine drip (to treat sores formed on his throat) and he couldn't swallow, much less eat; his skin was purple and his body was gaunt. I think for most of us, seeing him that night really opened our eyes to the battle he was facing, and it was scary.

If you know Rob, you know how caring, witty and incredibly positive he is- even through the most difficult situations. You also know how unfair it is that someone like him has to face this battle. 4 months later, Rob is slowly gaining strength, and we are taking action to help fight blood cancers!
We have formed "Team Bun Bun" to train for the Miami Marathon with Team In Training this winter and fundraise for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of Rob's ongoing battle. You can support the Team Bun Bun efforts in 1 of 2 ways:

• Consider joining Team Bun Bun and train for the Miami Half or Full Marathon! Train to walk or run the event and travel with the Bun Bun contingency to Miami this January! Contact me at Erin.Macbeth@lls.org for more information.
• If you cannot join us in Miami (or do not live in NYC), please consider making a $50 donation to LLS in support of Team Bun Bun; your donation will go to support patients like Rob and fund life-saving research...and it's 100% tax deductible! Click HERE to donate to our team page.

Training kicks off next month; if you aren't able to join the Team, we will be sure to keep you updated on the goings-on of Team Bun Bun each month...so get excited!

Team Bun Bun-
Erin, Charlotte, Diana, Kelly & Brix

A Midsummer Night's Booze Cruise: RAFFLES!

A Midsummer Night's Booze Cruise on June 17th presents...

Raffle Prizes Galore!

We have TONS of great raffle prizes for the 2nd Annual A Midsummer Night's Booze Cruise, so start saving your pretty pennies! Each of the prizes below will be raffled off seperately.

100% of the proceeds from raffle sales goes directly to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

"I'm on a boat, I'm on a boat

Everybody look at me cause I'm sailin' on a boat.."

[TO RSVP FOR THIS EVENT, CLICK HERE!]

Platinum Prize category- $10/raffle ticket or $40/5 raflle tickets

4 tickets to Yankees v. Kansas City Royals on June 23rd @ 7 p.m. (Section 106, Row 14)
Approximate Value: $600

3-Month All-Access Membership to Equinox
Approximate Value: $500

2 Tickets to Rock of Ages
Approximate Value: $400

Haircut & Color at Leonard Gulino Salon with Thom, the Cranial Follicular Specialist
Approximate Value: $350

***

Gold Prize Category- $5/raffle ticket or $20/5 raffle tickets

Nike Lunarglide Running Shoes & USA Track & Field backpack, donated by Olympian Erin Donohue
Approximate Value: $200

Wine Class for 2 at Vero Wine School
Approximate Value: $150

30-Day Membership to New York Sports Club
Approximate Value: $100

30 15-Day Passes to New York Sports Club **30 winners**
Approximate Value: $50/piece

2 VIP Tickets to Jimmy Fallon Live
Approximate Value: n/a

2 Tickets to Martha Stewart Live
Approximate Value: n/a

2 tickets to Late Show with David Letterman
Approximate Value: n/a

2 tickets to Gotham Comedy Club
Approximate Value: n/a

Booze Cruisin' for a Cure: Thursday, June 17th

You're invited!

Join me for the 2nd Annual A Midsummer Night's Booze Cruise

to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! 

When: Thursday, June 17th from 7-11 p.m.

Where: Boat departs from Pier 81 (West 41st & Hudson)

Price: $55/ticket for 3 hour open bar! ($25/ticket sale goes directly to LLS)

Click HERE for event details and to RSVP!

A little rain won't stop us, eh Vancouver Team?

 

Just returned late last night from Vancouver, British Columbia (that's in Canada, folks), where Team In Training had aboot 300 participants cross the finish line of the BMO Vancouver Marathon on Sunday.

TNTers from 8 chapters around the U.S. and Canada combined to raise over $1.25 million for LLS- adding another drop to the TNT Billion-Dollar-Bucket. (Yes, TNT has raised OVER one billion dollars to date...wrap your head around that!) Our New York City Chapter boasted 90 finishers of the full or half marathon, raising a collective $320,000 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Soggy doesn't begin to describe race day conditions. Over 14,000 runners toed the line in a steady drizzle (and occasional pour), which lasted the entire half marathon and through about half of the full marathon. Cold temperatures and a challenging course didn't help, but it also didn't stop our runners from achieving what they had set out to achieve. Sprinting, bounding, cruising, crawling or hobbling- 100% of the NYC Team completed the race, many in personal best times.

Congrats Vancouver Team!

country music marathon: headin' home, ya'll

This weekend, I'm headin' down south for the Country Music Marathon on Saturday, April 24th.  Part of the Rock n' Roll marathon series, the Country Music Marathon is a tour of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, with bands scattered along the 13.1 or 26.2 mile course.

The race begins in Centennial Park and continues along many of Nashville's famous sights: music row, Belmont University, the State Capitol Building, the Cumberland River, Shelby Park, Shelby Bottoms Greenway, & ends outside LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans.

And if I'm lucky, I might even get a sneak peak of this little gem along the way.

Truth be told, my preparation has included very little running. In fact, almost none at all. I like to think of my preparation as more mental than physical...and my motivation for crossing the finish line on Sunday? My mom and dad. Not letting them beat me, that is.

My mom Gerry and dad Glenn will be racing the half marathon, following months of preparation to run their first half marathons, and I could not be more proud! Stay tuned for post-race highlights and photos...

Speaking of Tennessee...I grew up about 30 miles down the road from Nashville, in a town called Murfreesboro- yes, that's right, THE geographic center of Tennessee. Mufreesboro's centricity is only one of the many reasons that I love Tennessee. Here are some others: the Vols, the ice, the (former) World's Largest Red Cedar Bucket (RIP), Jeff Fisher & those Tennessee Titans, the whiskey, the food, and the music!

Feel free to share the things that you love about the Volunteer State...

i'm on a boat...

It's right around the corner, so save that date! Details to come...

thinking of you, buns..

Today, my friend Rob Bundy (aka "bun bun") checks into Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on Manhattan's Upper East Side for 8 days of chemotherapy, followed by his 2nd bone marrow transplant on April 15th, to treat a reccurence of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

Rob was first diagnosed with leukemia in March 2007, only a year after moving from Knoxville, Tennessee to New York to begin a career in architecture at Kliment Halsband Architects. A month later, he had returned to Tennessee, where he underwent 7 months of treatment in Nashville, culminating in a bone marrow transplant that September.

The transplant was a success. Rob returned to New York in December 2007 and picked up right where he had left off: back to work and back to making sure everyone around him knows just how superior the Tennessee Vols are at all things athletic. (Too bad about that tourny loss)

Unfortunately, this December a biospy done on Rob's knee revealed a recurrence of leukemia in his right femur, prompting another course of radiation and chemotherapy in late December and January- and now the transplant this month. Rob's brother Jameson will be his donor for a second time.

Friends describe Rob as caring, funny, quick with the witt and able to see the best in any situation- even this one. He loves (again) UT Orange, deep sea creatures (especially giant squids- love, Kylie), architecture and is devout in his beliefs. Above all, he is an extremely brave guy.

Today, we're all thinking of you, Buns..

Check out Rob's Caringbridge Journal here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/robbundy


Want to do something more to help?

Register for the national Bone Marrow Registry. It's a pain-free process but could one day save someone's life. Or sign up for Team In Training or Light the Night, and raise money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Email me for more information on getting involved with the New York City Chapter.