Our Team

 

 

 

Mike Sheehy, Ultramarathoner & UltraRun Tour creator

Words to live/work/run by: “Go, Go, Go!” – Jackson Sheehy, 3 years old
If I wasn’t a runner, I’d be…Finishing the Unified Field Theory at the CERN and starting to draft my Nobel Prize speech.
If I was in a band, I’d be…The roadie. Just think: no pressure, and you’d still get to say, “I’m with the band.”
Favorite Running Film: Pre

There’s not much that Mike feared. He summited four of the Seven Summits around the world. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, Ranger School, and served in the 75^th Ranger Regiment. He even conquered some of the most difficult races in the U.S.A. Personal limits were unknown to him, and when the length of a race wasn’t enough, he started to run ultras, lengthening the race to 30 miles, then 50 miles, then 100 miles, and now over 500 miles. The more extreme the race, job, or event, the better. However, when one of Mike’s friends was diagnosed with leukemia, he realized that there were some things that he did fear, yet there was also something he could do about those things. Mike joined the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training, and has since run several marathons with the team to raise money for LLS, in addition to training the elite runners to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Mike has also found a way to blend his love of extremes and running by creating the CR! UltraRun Tour. Says Mike, “I am no longer a runner or even a runner with a cause. I am a runner on a mission to improve lives impacted by cancer, and to inspire others to make a difference in their community and the world.”

Julie Tyson Westcott, Founder of Cures Rock!

Why I run: During a run, I’m not focused on the past, or what might happen tomorrow. I’m 100% focused on the present moment, grateful to be alive to experience it. Pushing my physical, mental and spiritual limits through endurance running takes me to a magical realm where anything is possible.
I can’t resist…Peanut butter and glitter.
Favorite Running Film: Saint Ralph
 
By day, Julie is a senior manager at a Fortune 100 healthcare company. By night, she’s a non-profit, social media, cause-marketing and fundraising geek. Julie is a leukemia survivor, musician and runner with an intense passion to change the world. As a result, she is the founder and co-leader of the San Diego LIVESTRONG Army. She ran the Boston Marathon on Team LIVESTRONG in 2009 to raise funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and she has completed four seasons with Team in Training thus far. Julie commented, “I believe that awareness, early detection, and proper health management should not just be a luxury for a few. I want to ensure that all people have access to the same resources that save lives.” It is with that heart that Julie founded Cures Rock!, an international, sports, and music-centered group dedicated to providing fundraising support and inspiration to those affected throughout the world. The goal of Cures Rock! is to raise awareness and funds to involve the community around her through special events and social media to spread the word that: Cures Rock! (Cancer does not.).
 

Angie Tyson VanderBurgh, National and Corporate Sponsorships Team Leader

Favorite weekend activity: Eating a picnic lunch in the backyard with my two kids and husband.
Favorite song to get me running/focused: Jeremy Camp’s “Speaking Louder than Before.”
Words to live by: “Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things we do not see.” –Martin Luther

Angie refers to herself as her twin’s (Julie Westcott) groupie. Staying true to her word that if she “ever lived in the U.S.A. again, [she’d] run a marathon with [Julie],” Angie joined Team in Training in 2009 and completed her first marathon.  Read more

 

Bill Martin, LLS and Board of Trustee Liaison for the Cures Rock! Team

 Number of marathons run: I’ve run 14 marathons, including logging 30+ miles on race days supporting team members. I currently coach marathon runners for Team in Training.
Hobbies: SCUBA diving and travel.
If I wasn’t a runner… I’d be a cyclist.

 Bill joined the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training (TNT) in 1996 and has since completed twenty-six seasons with TNT. He has participated in TNT as a runner, mentor, captain, assistant coach and the head coach. Read more

Bill Sheehy, Ultra Run Logistics Support

Favorite running movie: Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger…the scene where he is running through the jungle as stuff explodes behind him and the Predator is hot on his trail. Awesome stuff—lots of shooting, explosions, and in the end the good guys whoop the bad guys! Not your traditional running movie but my personal belief is: create your own maneuver space; don’t let others define that space for you.

If I were in a band, I’d be… in it with Mike. I’d be the guy playing the tambourine or triangle because I have as much musical talent as Mike has eye/hand coordination- ZERO. But, man, it would be a fun band!
Favorite weekend activity: Watching Final Four (especially when KU is in it).

Though Bill doesn’t have much “down time,” when he does he enjoys the company of his family and time with his brother, Mike. So, when Mike asked him to help with this ultrarun, he couldn’t refuse, and his wife, Marcia, has been 100% supportive.  During this insane run from San Diego to Phoenix, Bill will do whatever is needed to help achieve success.  Bill commented, “I don’t run like Mike, mainly because I own a car and if I have to travel, say, 50 miles, I tend to drive. But I do run, primarily because if I didn’t I’d be fat-normous because I love to eat nachos and and watch college basketball (Rock Chalk Jayhawk!) and the NFL.  

  

Colin Eckelman, Local Sponsorships Team Leader

 I splurge on…Books.
Why I run: Running is my escape from the daily grind. I find it very meditative.
Favorite Quote: “We can all fly as high as the dreams we care to live…unless we are a chicken.”
 

Colin is a transplant from the east coast, lured to San Diego by the active lifestyles of running and cycling. Just months after losing his mother to breast cancer in 1993, Colin was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Read more
 
 

Greg Dowell, Communications Leader

Interesting fact about Me: I was a disc jockey for several years and worked with broadcast media while fundraising for local school music programs.
Favorites: Music, running and the Food Network keep my life rockin’.
Favorite Music: I’m a Parrothead, a Dead Head, and I’ll be running as long as Springsteen packs the house at Madison Square Garden!

Greg Dowell’s deep commitment to wiping out cancer is a result of his wife’s leukemia that nearly took her from him. He joined Cures Rock! as a personal commitment to unite caring individuals with more efficiency and impact to fight this devastating disease. He believes that Cures Rock! means hope and a difference that everyone can make.
 

Jennifer Reardon, Ultra Run Support Relay Team Leader

I can’t resist…Ice cream.
Favorite weekend activity: Riding bikes with my husband and two boys.
I splurge on…My kids.

Jennifer is a runner that loves to run for a cause, rather than just running for the sake of running. Read more.

  

Stephen Sheehy, Ultra Run Logistics Support

I can’t resist…An outstanding micro-brew…the more hops the better.
Favorite Running Film: Chariots of Fire
If I wasn’t a runner…I’d be out fly fishing.

Steve Sheehy (a.k.a. Mike’s twin brother) has lived his life with three driving philosophies: “You gotta believe” (if you don’t believe in what you are doing, or who you are doing it with, you can’t succeed.); “You need to have PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) and with PMA you can do anything”; and “Cooperate and graduate” (the hard work is made easier if you work as a team.). Read more

Suzanne Ellard, Ultra Run Logistics Support

Why I run: I love running because it has helped me overcome many negative phases in my life. After a run, I feel like I can do anything. I feel grateful that I am able to run.
I can’t resist…Sushi, Oreo blizzards (with extra Oreos), carrot cake, peanut butter, and putting my body to the test.
If I was in a band, I’d be…On the dance crew.

Suzanne is one that likes to maintain a positive and active lifestyle, in addition to her work as an administrative coordinator. Her involvement with Team in Training came from the belief that the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society truly helps individuals and families who are diagnosed with blood cancers. Read more.