Team in Training, also known by the acronym TNT, is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's endurance sports training program. The program provides training for a half marathon, marathon, triathlon, century (100-mile) bike ride, or a cross-country ski marathon. Team members raise funds to help support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in exchange for certified coaches, training, sports education clinics, a personal fundraising web site, support from staff and teammates, a fundraising mentor, event fees, and lodging and airfare to more than 60 accredited events in the United States and abroad. The Society uses at least 74 cents of every dollar raised for cancer programs, funding research to find cures to leukemia, Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, and myeloma - the blood cancers - as well as assistance with the often overwhelming burdens faced by patients and their families currently fighting blood cancers.
The "Team" in Team In Training stands for Train, Endure, Achieve, and Matter. [1]
As of 2008, TNT has had more than 360,000 volunteer participants raise over $850 million to support blood cancer research and patient services for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.[2]
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Most of the funds raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society go to research and patient care. Funds are used for patient financial assistance, bone marrow donations, prescription drug co-payments, patient mentoring programs, patient transportation, and medical research.
Team in Training athletes following training plans designed by noted coaches such as Dave Scott, Arnie Baker, and Jack Daniels.[3]
Charity running in general has been criticized for several reasons. Some of the more common complaints are:
A 2009 article in the Chicago Tribune cautions runners new to charity program
But while marathons can be rewarding and life changing, they can also be grueling, unpleasant events, especially if you're new to the sport. If you're also fundraising—no easy feat—you might feel pressured to keep pushing with training when you shouldn't. And some running coaches worry that the charities are more interested in raising money than in the health of the runners, a charge the charities deny.[7]
A few of the more vocal critics of charity runners in the running community are running author and New England Runner columnist Tom Derderian, veteran running Broadcaster Toni Reavis, and Jim Hage of the Washington Post.[4]
In 1949, the de Villiers family lost 16 year old Rober Roesler de Villiers to leukemia. His death lead to the creation of a foundation called Roesler de Villiers, which is now known as the Leukemia & Lymphomia Society. The organization's mission is "Our mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families." [8]
Team In Training was founded by Bruce Cleland in 1988 Rye, New York. Cleland created a team to train for a marathon in New York City in honor of his daughter Georgia, a leukemia survivor. The team raised $322,000 for the Westchester/Hudson Valley Chapter, which helped Team In Training grow into what it is today. Runner’s World magazine recognized Bruce Cleland as one of their “Heroes of Running” for his major contribution in founding TNT. [9]
TNT has 64 chapters, with numerous locations in the United States and Canada. [10]