Students know that running is great for overall health, but with the Team in Training program students can run to support those with cancer while improving their own health.

Team in Training is a program in which students train and raise money for cancer research and patient care. The program began in 1988 when Bruce Cleland ran the New York City Marathon to honor his daughter, Georgia, who survived leukemia. Cleland raised over $322,000, according to the Team in Training Web site. Like Cleland, participants must raise money and train hard to honor the survivors and continue cancer research.

Participants do not have to start training for a full marathon, but can slowly work their way up from a half-marathon to a full marathon. Professional trainers and coaches meet with members two to four times a week, said Andrea Zelinski, campaign director for Team in Training.

During the four-to-five months of training, members work with professional coaches and trainers who will help them get ready for an event of the member’s choosing. Such events include the recent Nike Marathon in San Francisco, marathons in Rome, and other events across the U.S. The program has 64 chapters across the nation. The program and its members participate in 12 events such as marathons, half-marathons, triathlons, centuries (100 mile bike rides) and hiking adventures.

New members do not have to be Lance Armstrong to enter the program, Zelinski said.

“For 80 percent of the members this is their first time doing an endurance event,” she said.

Many participants join in hopes of reclaiming good health, but to many this event helps “turn their life around,” Zelinski said.

“Just being out there and having that support … [is] so inspirational” Zelinski said.

She said that each team in the program has a personal hero. This hero can be, as the Web site states, “a local child or adult who is receiving treatment for, or is in remission from cancer.”

These heroes provide the support and inspiration for the participants to continue training and finish that last mile of a race.

The program requires a minimum of $4,100 in funds to pay for members’ airfare, hotels and race entry. The funds also cover two dinners, the Mission Moment and the Victory party, which celebrate the members, cancer patients and the support of everyone involved.

Members do not have to dig in their pockets, because Team in Training provides fundraising support on its Web site as well as writing campaigns. These campaigns are intended to help members spread the message and gather donations from friends and family.

Students interested in the program can visit the Team in Training Web site at www.teamintraining.org.