When Katie Dorst and Anne Austin began training in January for an upcoming marathon, they could barely run two miles. But after four months of intensive conditioning, the University sophomores can now run 16 miles in one outing.
By next month, they will have to be able to push themselves up to 26.2 miles — the distance necessary to complete the June 23 marathon in Anchorage, Alaska. And they’ll run for those who have life-threatening illnesses.
Austin and Dorst, both sophomore journalism majors, belong to the Eugene chapter of Team in Training, a national program that raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. For their largest fundraiser so far, Austin and Dorst will host a concert Friday featuring local bands, including one comprising University students.
According to the society, an estimated 640,000 Americans are currently living with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma, which are cancers that originate in the bone marrow. Every nine minutes, a child or adult dies from one of these diseases, and it is estimated that 60,400 people will die this year.
Dorst, who first became interested in the bicycling and marathon program after watching a Team in Training event in California, is responsible for starting the Eugene chapter. To participate in Team in Training, each member must raise $3,500, and the society then uses the money to help patients and their families through support groups, financial aid, transportation assistance and educational resources.
Fundraising for the event is a full-time job, Austin said. In the past months, she and Dorst have spent hours on the phone requesting donations and organizing fundraising events, Austin said.
Friday’s show, which begins at 8 p.m. in Agate Hall, will feature four local bands. They are Willard, the Courtesy Clerks, who will feature a punk sound, Double-O-Seven, who will provide ska music, and a University student band, Tympanic, who will play an eclectic mix of rock, funk, jam and bluegrass music.
Although Dorst and Austin offered to pay them, the members of Tympanic said the publicity and the chance to support a good cause were all the payment they needed.
“The least we can do is back up what they’re doing with our music,” said band member Austin Jones, a sophomore environmental studies major.
The day of the concert signifies more than just a fundraising event. Friday also marks the sixth birthday of Jordan Thompson, a Eugene boy who has leukemia.
Each team competes in honor of a person who has leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma or another blood-related cancer. For the Eugene chapter, that person is Jordan.
Over the past months, members of the team have developed a close relationship with Jordan and his family, Dorst said.
The boy’s courage in facing his disease has been a source of inspiration to them in their training, she said. They must push themselves constantly to go farther and to run longer. At times, she said, they literally feel as though they cannot go on.
But whenever a member of the team wants to give up, Dorst said, the team mentors say the four words that always keep the team going: “Just think of Jordan.”
Dorst said when she thinks of the challenges Jordan and other people with leukemia face, she is reminded of how fortunate she is to be able to run at all.
“At least I’m out here,” she said. “At least I can do it.”
Volunteer efforts have a significant impact on what the society is able to do, Oregon Team in Training cycle program manager Anne Zoormajian said. Since the program began in Oregon in 1993, volunteers statewide have raised more than $1.5 million, while nationally, volunteers have raised more than $150 million. She said 75 percent of what volunteers raise goes directly to the organization.
Tickets for Friday’s concert are $4 in advance or $5 at the door. They will be sold Wednesday afternoon outside the University Bookstore.