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A Cause for Celebration: How fundraising groups are fuelling the growth in marathon race participation

February 18, 2010
By Kevin Mackinnon
  • Team Sarah at the 2009 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Photo by Larry Grand
  • Sarah Grand running the 2008 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon with her mother Carmela Grand. Photo by Larry Grand
  • The London Marathon has become the largest fund-raising event in the world. Photo by www.photorun.NET
  • Arthritis Society Joints In Motion team members congratulate each other at the European Marathon in Trieste, Italy. Photo Courtesy of The Arthritis Society
  • Mark Trenton (on the right) finishing his 12th marathon in 12 months on December 12, 2009. He ran on behalf of his daughter who has juvenile diabetes and raised $7,000 for The Arthritis Society. Photo by Courtesy of Mark Trenton
  • Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada Team in Training members at the 2009 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. From left to right: Jill Roote, Amanda Carleton, Jordana Sheps and Michael De Ciantis. Photo Courtesy Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
  • Members of Giant Steps, supporting kids with autism, at the 2009 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. From left to right: Nancy Killey, Anna Colangelo-Marchesa and Luigi Colangelo. Photo Courtesy Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
  • Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada Team in Training member Randy Mellon at the 2009 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Photo Courtesy Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
  • A Team Lymphedema member captures the finish of teammates at the 2009 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Photo Courtesy Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
  • Hope for Children Foundation members at the 2009 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Christina Kidd (far left), Colin Kidd (second from left) and Caroline Hall (far right). Photo Courtesy Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
  • Epilepsy Foundation Out of the Shadows team members at the 2009 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Angella Walters (far left) and Jennifer Stone (second from left). Photo Courtesy Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
  • Team Diabetes Canada at the 2008 Barcelona Marathon races. Photo Courtesy of Team Diabetes

Team in Training (TNT) Timeline

1949: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) history begins when 16-year-old Robert Roesler de Villiers dies from leukemia. Family members declare “war on the disease” and create the Robert Roesler de Villiers Foundation to fund research to find a cure. The foundation would become the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, with the declared mission to “cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.”

1988:  The TNT program begins when Bruce Cleland organizes a team of 38 runners to do the New York City Marathon. Cleland’s daughter, Georgia, is a leukemia survivor. Cleland’s team raises $322,000 US.

1989: A team of 75 compete in New York for the second time.

1990: Olympian and former 5000m world record-holder Marty Liquori becomes a national spokesperson for TNT. He is diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia six months later.

1991: A TNT group from Kansas City, Missouri, flies 21 athletes to the New York City Marathon.

1993: The society’s CEO, Dwayne Howell, chooses TNT to become a national campaign in the U.S. to “raise a lot of money quickly.”

1994: TNT chapters send teams to Honolulu, Hawaii.

1995: Anchorage, Alaska and Washington, D.C. are added to the TNT series.

1996: Walking is added to the program and the signature purple TNT singlet is born.

1997: The century (100-mile) cycling program is added.

1998: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon is launched. About 5,700 TNT participants raise $15.6 million US.

1999: TNT becomes a four-sport program with the addition of triathlon.

2001: The first cross-country ski team is added to the program.

2002: Fundraising and personal web pages are added to the program.

2004: The Nike Women’s Marathon, A Race to Benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, in San Francisco, raises $10 million US.

2004: Team in Training begins in Canada. Since its inception, over 3,000 people have participated and have raised over $12 million.

NEXT PAGE …all about the Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge



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