Record-holder Dee Dee Urquhart will run in Ocean City on Sunday to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
(Courtesy Leukemia and Lymphoma Society)
Dee Dee Urquhart has set out to extend her Guinness Book of World Records for the most half marathons run by a female in a month, and her next race is in Ocean City.
Her goal is to raise $3,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) through its Team In Training program, the world’s largest and most successful endurance sports fundraising and training program.
Urquhart, who lives in Los Angeles and turns 60 on Oct. 18, will run her 18th half marathon at the Ocean City Half Marathon and 5K on Sunday, Sept. 30, to pad her record-breaking feat. According to the Guinness World Record website, the previous record for most half marathons completed in a month by a female is 13, and was achieved by American Stacey Kozel across nine states from June 4-27, 2018.
In 2006, Urquhart walked her first half marathon with Team In Training in memory of her best friend’s daughter, Kimberly, who had passed away three years earlier from cancer. She then went on to be an avid runner and a coach for Team In Training.
“As we approach the 15th anniversary of Kimberly’s passing, it feels very apropos that I’m aiming to break the Guinness World Record for most half marathons run in a single month during the course of Blood Cancer Awareness Month,” Urquhart said.
The OCNJ Half Marathon traditionally draws a big turnout of runners. (Courtesy City of Ocean City)
Since its inception, Team In Training has raised more than $1.5 billion for research and patient support, trained more than 650,000 people and helped LLS invest more than $1 billion to help advance breakthrough cancer treatments. Today’s Team In Training provides teammates a unique opportunity to experience personal discovery and mastery through training and community, while helping to create a world without blood cancer.
As the world’s largest non-profit health organization dedicated to finding cures and ensuring access to treatments for all blood cancer patients, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society relies on its flagship fundraising campaigns to generate funds for its mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
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o donate to Dee Dee Urquhart, visit her fundraising page: https://pages.teamintraining.org/calso/yourway19/durquhart