Team Duathlon - The Inaugural Season is what the Northern California Chapter of Team in Training (TNT) - the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's endurance training and fundraising program - has dubbed itself. This is the first ever Duathlon Team for TNT - the nation's longest running and most successful endurance training program - where amateur athletes train while raising funds to support ongoing research for blood-related cancers.

This pioneering group of San Francisco Bay Area runners and cyclists - encompassing all experience and skill levels - are training for the March 24^th 2002 Powerman Duathlon in Birmingham, Alabama. The 35 member team is being coached by a group of veteran duathletes, including Head Coach Demian Bigelow, Assistant Coach Philip Casanta, and Duathlon World Champion Rachel Sears.

Head Coach Bigelow is excited about his team's training and mission: We have a terrific, committed group of participants and coaches, he said. They will be challenging themselves to prepare for the Powerman event, while also raising over $100,000 to support the Society's mission of finding a cure for blood-related cancers. He added, The participants will reach new skill and performance levels with their training, but more importantly, they will be helping to save lives.

Do the Du has become the rallying cry for the team, which hopes to make this first-ever event for Team In Training a permanent part of the national TNT training program. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is the world's largest, private organization dedicated to finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma - and to improving the quality of like of patients and their families. Through programs like Team In Training, the Society raises funds for research, patient support, and community educational and outreach programs.

For more information on Team in Training and the Duathlon Team contact Team Manager Ananda Baron at 415-625-1153 or barona@ca-sf.leukemia-lymphoma.org.