21 Mar 2015

Air Jordan Fusion 4 a 35 year old Vancouver resident

ZAHIDA Jaffer and Megan Kleisinger plan to go the distance next weekend in an effort to beat blood cancers.

The North Air Jordan Fusion 4 Vancouver residents and friends are planning to tackle the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon and Half Marathon, respectively, Sunday, June 2, to pay tribute to family members who’ve successfully battled cancer and to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

The women are participating in the society’s fundraising endurance sports training program, Team in Training, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The program is open to individuals of a variety of fitness levels and participants are supported in their goal of completing events like marathons, half marathons, triathlons and cycling events by program coaches in the lead up, and simultaneously raise funds for the society. Funds raised through Team KOBE 9 in Training go towards blood cancer research and patient services.

“I decided to take this on with the team because since working here it’s changed my life just getting to know all the other athletes that have been involved and people who are cancer survivors that do it. . . . I just thought it would be neat to try it Air Jordan 2s out for myself,” she says.

Jaffer, 32, is an avid runner, having initially taken up the sport as part of her efforts to lose weight, successfully losing more than 130 pounds over a three year period.

“It was my goal once I reached my goal weight to train for a marathon,” she says.

Jaffer ran two marathons last year, however, they were just about completing them, she says. This time around, she has a specific time in mind, as well as fundraising goal, and she’s running in honour of her 39 year old cousin Saeed’s recent diagnosis with B cell follicular Air Jordan 5 lymphoma.

“He did go through extensive rounds of chemo but he was able to maintain a really high quality of life,” Air Jordan 3s she says. His treatment has been successful, which he attributes to positive advances in research.

A Houston, Texas, resident and father of two, Saeed has participated in previous Team in Training events through his local chapter and plans to meet Jaffer in San Diego to run the half marathon.

They’ll be reunited for the first time since they were kids.

“His whole family is going to be there in San Diego to support both of us, to cheer us both on, so it’s going to be very emotional,” says Jaffer.

This is the first time Kleisinger, 40, a speech therapist, has participated in a Team in Training event. She decided to participate to honour her brother’s cancer journey and mark an important milestone in his recovery. As well, she wanted to offer others currently battling the disease a sense of hope.

“I feel like my story is a hopeful story,” she says.

Kleisinger’s brother, Michael, a 35 year old Vancouver resident, was diagnosed 11 years ago with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and has been considered to be cancer free for 10 years.

“It’s such a great story and hopeful and I just wanted to let him know I still remember what (he’s) gone through,” she says.

Kleisinger is grateful for the support she’s received from Team in Training program staff in helping her reach her goals and positive experience overall and is considering continuing on with the program to run in an upcoming fall event, the Nike Women San Francisco

Community members interested in participating in future Team in Training events are encouraged to register for the following upcoming events: Vancouver Triathlon, Sept. 2; RBC GranFondo Whistler, Sept. 7; BMW Berlin Marathon, Sept. 29; and Nike Women San Francisco Marathon, Oct. 20. Training got underway yesterday.

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