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�Something beyond just me� Bob Pennell photo Margie Fullmer, 29, a Medford mother of two, will run a 26-mile marathon in Anchorage, Alaska, to raise money for leukemia research next week. Here she poses with her son, Cooper, 4. Medford woman nears financial finish line in order to make a marathon effort By Bill Kettler Margie Fullmer will travel half a continent next week to run 26 miles. Fullmer will fly to Anchorage, Alaska, to run a marathon to raise money for leukemia research. After months of training and asking people for donations, the 29-year-old Medford mother of two said raising money is harder than getting in shape to run 26 miles. "The hardest part was following up and calling people," she said. Fullmer signed on to run the Mayor�s Midnight Sun Marathon on June 17 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society�s Team in Training program. The program recruits runners and walkers from across the United States to raise money for leukemia research while they train for the race. "I always wanted to do a marathon," Fullmer said, "but I lacked the motivation. This was a way to turn my running into something beyond just me." The Leukemia Society provides transportation and accommodations for each runner. The runners pledge to raise a sum that covers their travel expenses and provides additional money for research, patient assistance and education. The runners� pledge varies with each marathon. Ryan Munn, of Ashland, and other Team in Training runners pledged $2,700 to compete in San Diego�s Rock �n� Roll Marathon on June 4. Fullmer and other Alaska-bound runners pledged $3,500. The program has raised more than $1 million in Oregon since it began in 1993, said Pat Todd, of the Leukemia Society�s Portland office. Todd said the Leukemia Society pairs each runner with a leukemia patient, and they provide moral support for each other during the months prior to the race. Fullmer traded regular e-mails with Kathie Miller of Merlin while she gradually lengthened her training runs. "I get pep talks from her and she gets pep talks from me," said Miller. "It adds a whole new dimension to your life." "Kathie decided she wouldn�t let her cancer run her life," Fullmer said. "She�s planned a trip to Scotland and her doctor is working around her schedule. It�s neat to see that." Fullmer filled her spring days with running and writing. She wrote fund-raising letters to friends and acquaintances, asking them to pledge a dollar a mile, and approached businesses for contributions. She gradually lengthened her running workouts as she built strength and endurance. A week before her first marathon, Fullmer runs about 40 miles a week, including one long weekend run of 18 to 20 miles. She�s still about $1,000 short of her goal in her first fund-raising project. That won�t prevent her from running the marathon. The Leukemia Society requires runners to promise they�ll pay any shortfall if they fail to meet their fund-raising target. Fullmer said she got strong support from many individuals and businesses, but some of her projects fizzled. A car wash-bake sale-raffle she had organized for this weekend collapsed at the last minute when many of the volunteers she had recruited realized they had schedule conflicts on graduation weekend. Several projects that will extend past the marathon could shave a few hundred dollars off her personal contribution. Fullmer, a registered dietitian, said her first fund-raising experience convinced her she would like to work on goal-oriented projects when her children are older. "I�ll find something I can throw myself into for the rest of my life," she said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA