Leukemia & Lymphoma Society prepares for Light the Night
Walk
Gas prices pushing or exceeding the $4 mark may be putting the
brakes on Americans’ summer travel plans, but The Leukemia
& Lymphoma Society (LLS) is doing its part to provide some
relief by offering free gas cards and a chance to win an all-expense
paid vacation to Light The Night® Walk participants.
Light The Night Walk is the nation’s opportunity to pay
tribute and commemorate lives touched by blood cancer and the
goal of finding cures and helping patients. Fundraising online
during the months of July and August can earn participants $50
gas cards for every $500 raised and $15 gas cards for every $250
raised during those months. Cards are available while supplies
last. As a bonus, the top online fundraiser in July and August
will win a special grand prize: a vacation for four at one of
the luxurious Marriott Vacation Club International’s Orlando
Resort properties, including air transportation. For information
about the gas promotion, contact LLS’s New Mexico/El Paso
chapter at (505) 872-0141, ext. 228, toll free at (888) 286-7846,
ext. 228, or visit www.lightthenight.org/freegas.
Light The Night Walks will take place in Albuquerque on September
20 and in El Paso, Texas on October 11, with teams of co-workers,
families, and friends walking together in twilight holding illuminated
balloons—white for survivors and red for supporters.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world’s largest
voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer
research and providing education and patient services. For information
about blood cancer, visit www.LLS.org
or call the LLS Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572,
Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
The call center is staffed by master’s level social workers,
nurses, and health educators who provide information, support,
and resources to patients and their families and caregivers.
Athletes achieve their highest level of fitness
in Los Alamos
Whether athletes run, bike, ski, swim, or hike, they’re
finding Los Alamos, New Mexico, is open year round for high-altitude
training. Achieving peak performance is tough at 7,500 feet, but
this historic town is attracting competitors worldwide for training
and competitions.
The city recently launched its Los Alamos High-Altitude Sports
website. The online resource for athletes, http://www.lahighaltitudesports.com,
provides a full calendar of sporting events in the area with direct
links to the event websites, as well as vacation tours and map
information for regional attractions. The website also provides
links to local lodging deals and other special deals.
“Los Alamos is a unique place to train,” said Kelly
Stewart, Economic/Marketing Specialist with Los Alamos County.
“Our community supports and encourages athletes to test
their physical strength here. The high altitude and rugged terrain
deliver the challenge.”
Athletes are also competing in events here year round. The front
page of the new website features a full schedule of events, from
snow sports to orienteering to triathlons.
“Athletes are discovering Los Alamos,” said Stewart.
“Olympic swimmers and hopefuls from around the world come
to train at the Larry Walkup Aquatic Center, which houses the
highest elevation Olympic-sized pool in the nation. Plus, we have
local athletes, including ultra-marathoners, that are taking advantage
of our access to the myriad trails in the Jemez Mountains and
the Valles Caldera National Preserve (an 89,000-acre area inside
a collapsed volcano crater) to design courses and events that
are attracting competitors from around the nation.”
The Atomic City Invitation Golf Tournament is scheduled for July
2 to 6 at the Los Alamos Golf Course. Nestled atop the beautiful
mesas below the Jemez Mountains, this course offers a challenging
6,500-yard, par 72, eighteen-hole layout. Ponderosa pines and
cottonwood trees line the sloping fairways and small push-up greens
provide a challenge to even the most experienced golfers. Additional
information is available at http://www.losalamosgolf.org/index.htm.
On July 4, runners are encouraged to enter the Independence Day
Firecracker 5K race in Los Alamos.
“After competing, we encourage athletes to stay and visit
the area attractions, including the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s
Bradbury Science Museum, the County’s historical walking
tour, and the ancestral pueblo dwellings at Bandelier National
Monument,” said Stewart. “In addition to world class
sporting events, Los Alamos offers touring athletes and their
families rich history and a variety of fun outings.”
In addition to a full calendar of sporting events at http://www.lahighaltitudesports.com,
athletes can find a more information at: http://visit.losalamos.com.
