Five years after her mother died from complications due to Hodgkin's lymphoma, Allison Linares joined Team In Training (TNT). Then, in 2003, she lost her stepfather from a stroke due to leukemia. Losing two parents to blood cancers just made Allison more committed to help fund and find a cure. After working as a mentor, then a coach, in 2011 she became a triathlete herself.

Allison says she knows that, by raising funds to support The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's mission, there may be one more mom at her daughter's wedding or one more graduate at that college commencement.

"I can't imagine NOT being a part of Team In Training," Allison says.

Jen and Bill Moss got an amazing bonus when they decided to participate in Team In Training (TNT). They met through the program in 2005. Jen had been volunteering for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since 9/11 in memory of her grandmother, Doris McCafferty. Bill was looking for a way to honor his mother, Margaret, who had lost her battle with leukemia in 2000.

Together they've completed 17 events with TNT, raising $48,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Through TNT, they not only found a way to honor the people they loved, but they also found each other. Today their two daughters enjoy running in local "tot trot" races and helping their parents volunteer for water-stop duty at TNT group training sessions.

Lynne Taylor is a Team In Training (TNT) alumna, mentor and coach. She did her first event in April of 1997, thinking it was going to be a one-shot deal. But she fell in love with the program and went on to run several half and full marathons, raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Says Lynne, "Team In Training is THE most amazing thing that I have ever done in my life. My parents joke that I spend more time with Team In Training than I do with my own family. I say Team In Training is my family, too!"

John Kellenyi, Board President, participated in his first Team In Training (TNT) event, the Marine Corps Marathon, in 1999. Since then he's lost several friends to blood cancer, and his passion for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) mission has risen correspondingly. Says John, "The results achieved by LLS-sponsored research, in the form of dramatic improvements in survival rates and tremendous assistance for patients, fuels my motivation."

In 2007, John was proclaimed the Million Dollar Man. By then he had raised over $1.4 million dollars for LLS. An inspirational quote from John was even featured on a Starbucks Coffee Cup: "People say, oh, I could never do that! But when you meet cancer patients, you understand the bravery and spirit those people show each and every day. You'll be surprised by what you can do."

Helen Harris was inspired by coworkers to join Team In Training (TNT) and found it especially important after a friend and coworker of many years lost his battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Once she participated, she met honorees who were fighting heroic battles with blood cancers. Then, at age 39, she was diagnosed with cancer. Luckily, hers was early-stage and very treatable.

Says Helen, "One of the things I love most about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is that the research we fund develops treatments that are effective against other cancers, which will get us to the ultimate goal we all share - making the C-word a thing of the past!"

John Hyland has served on the New Jersey Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) board since 2000. He was inspired by his aunt, Nancy Hyland, who lost her fight with leukemia.

After years of working with LLS, John himself was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in 2010. Says John, "When the diagnosis happened, I knew I would have tremendous support from LLS. I was very fortunate to survive the disease, and when the opportunity came up to participate in an Ironman event with Team In Training I didn't hesitate. It would give me the unique opportunity to actually raise funds for critical research for the exact cancer I survived."

The Iron Team went on to raise $681,730, surpassing their goal of $500,000.

In 1988 Bruce Cleland assembled a team to run the NYC Marathon to raise money for blood cancer research in honor of his daughter, a leukemia survivor. The team of 38 runners raised $322,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and they called themselves Team In Training (TNT).

Now, 27 years later, TNT has become the most successful endurance sports training program for charity in the world. Over 600,000 participants have raised more than 1.5 billion dollars to fund blood cancer research and treatments that are saving the lives of patients today.

Bruce was honored by Runner's World magazine in 2004 as one of their "Heroes of Running" for his role in establishing TNT. He was also featured in the January 2013 issue of Competitor magazine.