By ANTHONY RIFILATO
"She asked me to come and watch her, and I said, 'Well, why don't I just run,'" Kroell said.
The longtime friends - both Baldwin High School Class of 2000 graduates - are now gearing up for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training marathon in Orlando, Florida January 13.
The event - a 26.2 mile race that runs through Epcot Center, the Magic Kingdom and Disney MGM Studios - raises money for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma research. For Kroell and Doherty, it was an opportunity to raise funds for a good cause.
"We figured it was something we both wanted to do and it gives us a chance to give back," said Kroell, who lives in Astoria and is a nurse at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan. "We've never done anything for charity, so this was a good way to give back."
Doherty said she had run some 5k races in the past, but nothing quite like this. As a program analyst for Fox Television, she was introduced to a woman involved with Team in Training, which since 1988, has had more than 300,000 volunteer participants who have raised more than $700 million.
"I always wanted to run a marathon," said Doherty, who graduated York College in Pennsylvania and is working towards her Master's Degree in communications at Baruch. "It sounded like an awesome experience."
The pair began training in September and run five days a week, two of which are with the New York Chapter of Team in Training, at which 50 to 85 people participate in Central Park, Kroell said. Each week, the run increases by two miles. Last week, Doherty and Kroell were already running 13 miles, their own "mini-marathon," Kroell said.
"My family is like, 'That's so far,' but a lot of people have showed their support," said Kroell, who graduated from Union College in 2004 and received her nursing degree from Adelphi University last summer.
Team in Training provides certified coaches and mentors for a period of five months leading up to the race, as well as a personalized training regiment and clinics. Participants also create their own personal Web site for online fundraising. They also hear about the devastating effects of cancer, sometimes by survivors and their families.
"Before practice, we listen to stories about people and how the money raised through Team in Training really benefits cancer research," Kroell said. "One girl said she was diagnosed when she was 20 years old, and she was telling us about the treatments she went through. We tried to imagine what that would be like. At 20, we were in college partying. Team in Training shows us how the money we raise is working to find a cure." Since September, Kroell said Team in Training has raised $350,000 for the Florida marathon, which goes towards research and grants.
Each participant has to raise $4,000 to run, and both Doherty and Kroell said that they are about halfway there and that the support has been great. Since they are looking for more sponsors, Doherty and Kroell are guest bartending at D.J. Houdek's on Merrick Road Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. to raise money, in the hopes of getting people to give to a good cause.
"I think it will not only be a fun night, but I'm hoping that there will be a good turnout in support of our mission," Doherty said.
