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Sports

Ashburn Athlete Races for Blood Cancer Cure

Jim Fraser has raised $25,000 for cause and plans to run first Ironman triathlon to continue helping.

For 53-year-old Ashburn resident Jim Fraser, husband and father of two, competing in the Oct. 2 Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountain Triathlon comes as more than just a physical test of endurance. The daunting task – a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run, all in one day – serves not only as a mark of personal accomplishment, but one of a vehicle through which he has helped change the lives of people who fight daily against blood cancer.

In 1976, Fraser began completed his first endurance event – the Inaugural Marine Corps Marathon. Throughout the years he went on to complete nine more marathons. In 1995 he contemplated running the New York City Marathon. Prior to that race, he lost a family member to leukemia.

“We hope nobody will have to go through what we have,” he said.

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The ordeal caused Fraser to connect with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) – the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer – and the Team in Training (TNT) family.

“There is a lot of information out there about leukemia and lymphoma, and LLS helps families sort through all the information,” he said, adding that TNT served as a conduit into the program – a “caring voice.”

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Organizers established LLS in 1949 and named it in memory of Robert Roesler deVilliers who died of leukemia at the age of 16. According to LLS statistics:

  • An estimated 1 million Americans are currently living with some form of blood cancer.
  • Every four minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer
  • Every 10 minutes someone dies from a blood cancer
  • Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children under the age of 20.
  • The survival rate for myeloma is only 41.1% and African Americans nearly twice as likely to be afflicted than other races.

TNT is the leading endurance sports-charity training program and is a part of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. TNT has had a tremendous impact on the growth in endurance sports – particularly with women’s participation. Fraser said he’s excited about being a part of this program. He called TNT’s training “as good as any program out there.”

“It really is a family in every respect,” he said. People join endurance training programs like TNT for various reasons, such as meeting new people, raising money for a cause or taking on a personal challenge.

“TNT gives you everything from A to Z to help you be successful,” Fraser said. “We want to create athletes who are part of the fabric of the sport for years to come and who take on endurance sports as a lifestyle.”

TNT has raised more than $1 billion to support blood cancer research and patient services since its inception in 1988. Fraser said TNT “became a passion for the entire family and an organization we focused a lot of attention on.” He loved the progress TNT was making and he wanted to be more involved in the program.

In 1998, Fraser and his family moved to the Washington, DC, area. In 2000, he decided to become a coach for TNT. The TNT marathon program helps prepare approximately 40,000 participants annually nationwide to cross the finish line of an endurance race. After many years of coaching the TNT marathon program and personally helping more than 1,000 participants cross the finish line, Fraser wanted to take things to another level.

In 2008, he was a Board of Trustees member for LLS, and TNT celebrated its 20th anniversary. During that year, the Nations Triathlon changed its sponsorship to benefit LLS. Fraser said he never saw himself racing a triathlon but he knew other coaches that had done them. That year, he and several other TNT participants decided to race their first triathlon.

After racing the Nations Tri, Fraser got bitten by the “triathlon bug.” He said he “wouldn't think of doing an endurance event without TNT” because of the support it provides and the infectious passion from all the participants. It made him appreciate his team even more.

He said “there are a number of wonderful charities that do events and I applaud people who do them for a cause greater than just finishing the race themselves,” he said.

This year, to take things to a higher level yet again, Fraser has trained to race his first half-Ironman. He is dedicating his latest effort to David Timko, former executive director of LLS’s National Capital Area Chapter, who is undergoing his third battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Fraser has known Timko for about eight years and said he has an “infectious spirit.”

“Besides being a patient, he has done so much to advance the mission of TNT,” Fraser said, calling Timko the “driving force” behind the Leukemia Ball, the National Capital Area’s largest annual nonpolitical black-tie gala. Timko went on in his role in the national chapter to replicate the event in other cities across the country.

“With the challenges he is facing now, he is keeping the same upbeat spirit,” Fraser said.

As part of his commitment to TNT, Fraser plans to raise $12,000 for his participation in the Ironman 70.3 race. In total, he will have raised a more than $25,000 through his participation in TNT events.

When asked about the challenges he faces in the future he said: "The only limits we have are those we place on ourselves."

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