Meet Julie Cramer. She's my friend here in red who happens also to be assistant editor of Kindred Spirit. (I often wonder, "What would I do without her?") We had a fun business trip together in May that allowed Julie to meet Mickey for the first time.

Like me, Julie loves to write. And we have something else in common. We're both former members of the I-hate-to-exercise club. Like Zig Zilar, I used to define working out as "Fighting the current when you drain the tub." But I had a change of heart a few years back. Julie's "conversion" is more recent. I will let her explain:

Moi: You told me you have started running. Do you even like to run?

JC: I've always hated to run because I thought I would crack the pavement. But now I am hooked. I run without music because I have found I can pray with more clarity of thought than I do anywhere else. Something about breathing in and out and being conscious of the gift of health, of legs and arms that work, of trees and sunshine. And because I am not an athlete by any stretch of the imagination, running reminds me that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

SG: What motivated you to start?

JC: I plan to run the Dallas Half marathon (about 13. 2 miles) on Sunday, November 5, 2006.

SG: Gadz. Not exactly easing into running, are you? Why would you want to run 13+ miles?

JC: For three reasons: 1) Again because I once said I couldn't run and I didn't like it when I said that. I didn't like that I limited myself out of fear; 2) Because I grew up seeing my dad, who has MS, lose his ability to walk, gain it back again, and lose it. That was the cycle for awhile. He can still walk, but does so with struggle and pain; and 3) because I am running with Team in Training, a program sponsored by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). They offer us a chance to do something we thought we couldn't do in exchange for our fund-raising efforts ... which allow cancer patients the chance to do something they might not have felt they could do either: have hope.

SG: How are you preparing?

JC: I run four times a week, with one group training session at White Rock Lake on Saturday mornings. We've been meeting at 5:30 a.m.(!) to beat this hot Texas summer. I love the heat, but when I'm out there sucking in hot air, I have been less than pleasant. The most I've run is 9.3 miles around the lake. But three months ago the most I'd run was across the street to dodge traffic. I'm also skipping the donuts and reaching for fruit and water. :)

SG: How much do you need? How can people give?

JC: People have already given generously. I have about $650, but have $1,000 more to raise. The easiest way to donate is online at my Team in Training page, which is a secure donation site: http://www.active.com/donate/tntntx/tntntxJCramer

SG: I've been to that site. I love the photo of you eating a donut! So where does the money you raise go?

JC: While some money goes back into the Team in Training program as well as my race fee, more than 95 percent goes to assist patients and their families with medical costs, along with funding research. The research of the LLS has developed the chemotherapy treatments used by patients of all cancers, so the research is significant and stretches beyond blood cancers. One Saturday a leukemia patient came to cheer us on at our group training session: he was a three-year-old boy who had been in remission for one year. The money goes to real people—quite frequently little ones.

SG: Why is this race important to you?

JC: In Psalm 139 King David wrote, "I praise you [God] because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Having seen what a gift health is, I know full well how much I should enjoy it while I have it, and why I should fight for those who don't.

SG: Okay, you're off the hot seat. Anything you want to add?

JC: I am grateful for any support people could give. It truly motivates me when I am running those last few long miles.

Thanks, Julie. I'm inspired. And I'm sure my readers will be, too.