My third marathon will be the Marine Corps Marathon on Halloween. I decided I wanted to do this race months ago, and registered as soon as it opened.

I didn’t need a charity spot.  But it was something I had been thinking about for a while.

Years ago, I lost an aunt to lung cancer (after she survived breast cancer) and an uncle to leukemia. They were both my dad’s siblings.

Last year, my father-in-law lost a chunk of his intestine when a cancerous growth was found. They got it all, no chemo — thank goodness.  But his sister, my husband’s aunt, is still fighting.

Her cancer had been in remission, but we recently learned it was back. And had spread.

That solidified my decision. I needed  to raise money for a cancer charity.

There are so many out there. I thoroughly reviewed the marathon’s charity partners page. And I found the right one for me – the Rally Foundation for childhood cancer research.

I like that they are a smaller charity — my contribution will make a bigger impact!  I’ve committed to raise $1,500.  And I’ll be running in honor of a five-year-old boy who beat cancer as an infant.

Can you  spare a few dollars to support childhood cancer research?

Please donate if you can!