Body, Mind & Spirit
Davenport Nurse Completes 100-Mile Ride to Fight Leukemia
Jennifer Cutkomp, RN, Mississippi Valley Surgery Center, can’t help herself – when she isn’t helping patients learn what to expect and what to do when they get home after a procedure, she’s most likely to be found running, cycling, and swimming endless miles.
Affectionately called “J.C.” by those who know her, she got her start in endurance sports when someone dared her to do the Quad Cities Triathlon in 2004. She trained all that winter and spring, then competed in June 2005. “As soon as I crossed the finish line, I was hooked,” she laughs. Yet this year, J.C.‘s training is different and more intense – it combines her passion for patient care with her competitive drive.
At the beginning of 2009, J.C. looked over triathlon calendars with the idea that she would out-do herself. Then she got an invitation from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training.(R) The LLS raises money by training athletes in teams to compete in endurance events; the athletes commit to raise funds for LLS .
“I figure if Kelsey is strong enough to battle the disease, then I could be strong enough to cycle 100 miles for her and others.”
Six-year old Kelsey, a young Quad City girl in remission from acute lymphocytic leukemia, has been the team’s honorary member and source of inspiration. “I figure if Kelsey is strong enough to battle the disease, then I could be strong enough to cycle 100 miles for her and others,” says J.C. “And she’s cool, too. We met her at one of our meetings. All you have to do is sit down with her, and you’re in.”
The event J.C. completed was the 100-mile bicycle event in Lake Tahoe, held June 7, 2009. “The distance wasn’t intimidating,” J.C. says, “but the altitude was certainly a challenge. Yet just being a part of a national effort and meeting teams from all over the United States made it a once-in-a-lifetime thrill.” Jennifer credits her success with the Society’s Team In Training® which provided special coaching support to keep J.C. and the rest of her team on track to compete successfully. “There were four or five of us in the group from the Quad Cities. We had weekly group runs with a coach, talked about nutrition, and got email tips,” J.C. says. “On Sundays, we rode with our coach here in the Quad Cities and it kept us all motivated.” Team In Training® began in 1988, when Bruce Cleland of Rye, NY, formed a team that raised funds and trained to run the New York City Marathon in honor of his daughter Georgia, a leukemia survivor. The team’s 38 runners raised $322,000 for LLS .
Since then, Team In Training has grown into the world’s largest endurance sports training program. More than 30,000 athletes are expected to compete this year in the world’s major marathons, triathlons, hiking adventures and century rides on behalf of LLS . J.C. reached her fundraising goal of $4,800, and her group raised $15,000 total. “The whole experience was really amazing,” she said. “As a nurse, I can understand medically what Kelsey has been going through. But in cycling for her, I have a new appreciation for her spunk, her tenacity and her spirit.”
