The members of Team Doelger who did the 4-mile run pose in Central Park at the 2009 Colon Cancer Challenge
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TEAM SPOTLIGHT: Team Doelger
Team Doelger participated in its first Colon Cancer Challenge last year. It was formed when team captain Jennifer Sloan Doelger did a search for a colon cancer run in New York and found our website. Her husband was undergoing treatment at the time for Stage III colon cancer. She was feeling helpless and wanted to do something. Although she had never been a runner before, it was something she always wanted to do.
When Jennifer found our race, she posted it on Facebook. Before she knew it, several moms in her town and other friends were encouraging her—and offering to do it with her. When she started training, she couldn’t run 5 minutes or make it one time around the track at her local high school but she kept at it. In the meantime, she approached family and friends for their support. Before she knew it, she was running 1 mile, then 2 miles, then 3 and 4 and had formed a team of 20 runners and walkers, raising over $1300 individually and close to $5,000 as a team. Her friend, Doreen O’Connor, who herself was a first time runner, received a single donation of $1,000. As Jennifer says, you never know who has been affected by this disease and wants to help!
As Jennifer approached the starting line on race day, she was in awe of all the people in Central Park that morning who had somehow been affected by colon cancer and wanted to do their part in the fight against the disease. Jennifer says the Challenge was good for her in so many ways and encourages anyone who has been affected by colon cancer to get involved. In addition to raising money and awareness for a good cause, the race became a positive goal for her to focus on and the running an outlet for the stress, anger and frustration anyone faced with cancer either as a patient, caretaker, friend or loved one may face.
The race was tough but with Doreen by her side and the others there with her, Jennifer knew she could do it. As she crossed the finish line and completed the 4-mile run (her first run of any kind!), she became emotional thinking about what she had just accomplished. It was a great day for Jennifer and the beginning of so much more. Since last year’s Colon Cancer Challenge, she has participated in as many as 8 road races, including several 5Ks, a 5-mile run and a 10K and even completed her first triathlon. Jennifer has also become a volunteer with the Colon Cancer Challenge Foundation and looks forward to running again this year (possibly in the 15K)—and helping to make the 2010 Colon Cancer Challenge the most successful yet!
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