Local Newpaper article on my Marathon Journey

Up until a few months ago, Ray Baumann of Collinsville wouldn't have exactly considered himself an athlete.

In fact, the 53-year-old admitted that the most strenuous exercise he had done over the last two decades was pretty much limited to playing golf and mowing the lawn.

So when his daughter and son-in-law began training earlier this year to run in the upcoming 26.2 mile Chicago Marathon - raising money for people with blood-related cancers, most would have expected him to remain safely entrenched and cheering from the sidelines. But to everyone's surprise, Baumann decided to drop the television remote, lace up his running shoes and give it a shot

Of course, going from the living room to the track wasn't going to be an overnight change. So he got involved with Team in Training, the fund-raising arm of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Team in Training specializes in turning normal or even out-of-shape individuals into athletes capable of taking on marathons, triathlons and biking events.

"I'm definitely a non-runner," he said. "I pretty much just got off the couch and said, let's see if Team in Training can do it."

In May, Baumann officially began his 20-week journey by making it approximately 200 yards before the exhaustion hit - quite a stretch from his final goal.

But through a change in his nutrition patterns, a lot of "self discipline" and running about five days a week with gradual increases in distance, he is now up to about nine miles.

Since each participant in the marathon is also being asked to raise $3,500 for the society, Baumann is now using his story to show people what they can accomplish if they set their mind towards a specific goal and to bring in funds for a worthy charity.

"It's a win-win situation," he said. "You are pushing yourself to reach a new level you never thought you could, but also raising money for a good cause."

His daughter and son-in-law, Cara and Seth Shiver, who are from the Ft. Worth, Texas area, have been running for about three years and raised more than $10,000 over the course of four marathons.

Baumann is trying to raise that amount for one event.

"Since I will have to put my heart and soul into this effort and it may be the only marathon I run, I'm hoping to raise $10,000," he said. "I want to make this 'pain and suffering' really worth it."

To donate to the cause, individuals or businesses can visit www.active.com/donate/tntgmo/SeeRayRun or by e-mailing rbaum0519@aol.com. Everyone who donates will get their name on the back of his T-shirt and a photograph of him crossing the finish line.

The Chicago event will be held on Oct. 7 and is expected to feature approximately 40,000 runners.

Although Baumann doesn't personally know anyone affected by one of the blood diseases, he said that team members often get letters from the people they are supporting. Many marathon runners will put the names or pictures of those patients on their clothes during the event.

According to statistics from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, more than 785,000 Americans are living with blood cancers. There were an estimated 54,000 deaths from the diseases in 2006. Since it was started, Team in Training has raised over $750 million.

www.active.com/donate/tntgmo/SeeRayRun