Today marks the end of another blog hiatus for me. I apologize for my absence. My drop-off in posts during August coincided with my commencement of a new career role, which has entailed a lot of what Jim Collins would describe as The Flywheel Effect. The good news is that SingleFeed's marketing flywheel is gaining momentum, and we are starting to reap the fruits of that labor.

Another activity that has been keeping me busy has been Ironteam. This group is the little-known division of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program that prepares athletes to complete an Ironman-distance triathlon (2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of cycling and 26.2 miles of running). Approximately a year ago, I experienced a lot of things that led me to this organization. I was discontinuing my involvement with the Balfour Leadership Training Workshop just as I had the opportunity to visit the Huntsman Cancer Institute and attend the last birthday party of a coworker's wife who was battling Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Her infectious strength and positive spirit made me want to get involved in finding a cure for her disease. I was also racing fairly often and one of my race club teammates was an Ironteam coach, so I asked him how I could get involved. Generally, only alumni of Team in Training programs have the opportunity to become mentors or coaches, but there was an opening for someone to help the team with their running, and I gladly accepted the position.

Our Kickoff Meeting was just two weeks ago, and I will admit that I arrived with some apprehension. As an outsider, I viewed Team in Training positively, but it also seemed a bit cultish. Everybody seemed to know each other and many of the athletes have a racing resume that is deeper than mine. However, after having a chance to meet and coach our team of dozens of inspirational people, I'm really glad I have joined Ironteam. Amongst the group are dozens of people who have lost siblings, parents, friends and spouses to cancer. While some of the team is made up of endurance racing veterans, we have members who will bravely make an Ironman triathlon their first foray into this sport. To put that into perspective, these inspirational people are devoting hundreds of hours of time and energy in order to make a personal contribution of thousands of dollars to help cure blood cancer.

I should mention that the program is working. Since its founding more than 20 years ago, Team in Training has raised almost $1 Billion for cancer research. In the 1960's, the survival rate for a young child with Leukemia was 4%. Today, as the result of research and medicine that has been developed over the years, that survival rate has become 85%. Of course, the other side of Team in Training is working as well. More than 400,000 participants have had the opportunity to train for marathons, cross-country skiing events, triathlons, cycling centuries and hikes. So, I certainly feel fortunate to be involved with this group, and I plan to blog regularly about the team's progress as our athletes prepare for Vineman, Ironman Louisville or Ironman Canada next July/August. Right now, it's time to squeeze in a run before I meet them for their run later this morning.