Fundraising Goal: $3,500

Total Funds Raised: $3,851

Age: 33

Bio: As a child growing up in west Texas with asthma, Briana Nix describes herself as the “the kid who couldn’t walk down the street without an inhaler.” Though Nix dreamed of running in a marathon some day, her health was always a concern that held her back from achieving her goal. But after her father died from a rare form of head and neck cancer on Aug. 1, 2009, Nix decided it was time to make her dream a reality. “Last summer, a few months before my dad died, I was talking to him about how I really wanted to run” Nix recalled. “He told me, ‘Give it a shot. I know you can do it.’”

Three months to the day after her dad’s death, Nix realized her father’s prophetic words by finishing her first half marathon. After that, she became hooked on running. Nix is now training for the ING New York City Marathon, and plans to run in honor of her dad and to raise money for the Waxman Foundation. Nix said she was attracted to the Foundation for its innovative research model in studying the biology of cancer across various organ sites. “My dad battled cancer for six years. I know the importance of cancer research. It gives patients and their families much needed hope” she said.

“I’m really excited to run the marathon because it’s something I told my dad I always wanted to do,” she added. “I’m finding so much inspiration during my training knowing that I’m doing it for him and for all the people who loved him so much.”

Briana would like to thank the following donors:
ABS
Eve Bates
Jen Beitler
Ronnie and Donna Bivins
Amanda Boening
Nicholas Bradham
Patrick T. Brady
Sarah Brady
Mollie Cohen
Doyle Crawford
Abigail DeLashmutt
Leib Dodell
Jean Drugan
Sarah Diminich
Cathy Fletcher
Leah Forehand
Brette Harrison
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers–Local 6
Angela Jones
Jennifer Karlin
Catherine Kirschner
Marilee Kyler
John Landry
Robyn Mark
Beth Magee
Deirdre Maloney
Cathy Moore
Michele O’Reilly
Devon O’Rourke
Kim Penick
Kindra Poage
Ilene and Neil Rubinstein
Samara Rubinstein
Estelle Schmones
Jamie Schmones
Lacey Schwartz
Scott Thane Ditching Service
Cathy Shannon
Jill Simon
Olivia Taylor
Mark Testa
Judson Traphagen
Kerry Treadaway
Christopher Turner
Kari K. Zimmerman

Fundraising Goal: $3,500

Total Funds Raised: $1,230

Age: 28

Bio: Bryan Rodman (pictured above in center) will be running in his first marathon this year and is excited about the mental and physical challenge ahead of him. Although he never considered himself a runner, Bryan completed a half-marathon in 2008 and was looking to enter into his first marathon until he was sidelined due to a hamstring injury. After a year off from the pavement, Bryan is reinvigorated and up to 10 miles on the weekends in preparation for November. Bryan will be running along side 3 of his co-workers who are also running in support of the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation.

In December of 2003, while on winter break from his junior year of college, Bryan was diagnosed with melanoma. He has made a full recovery from surgery and has been cancer free for more than five years. It was later in 2005 that long-time friend Joanna Steinberg (pictured above at right), founder of the Foundation’s junior board known as the Millennial Society, approached Rodman to join her in her efforts to engage the young professionals of the greater New York City area in support of the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation. After learning about Dr. Waxman’s unique approach to combating cancer, Rodman readily agreed to join Steinberg in her endeavors and has been an integral member of the Millennial Society ever since.

“Not everyone is as lucky as I am. I had cancer and the doctors were able to cut it out, it’s not that simple for everyone. We need to find a cure that doesn’t involve excision” Rodman said. “Dr. Waxman’s approach of looking at the causes of cancer instead of just the symptoms, coupled with the idea that scientists must collaborate with each other, gives me great hope that we can overcome cancer in my lifetime. Dr. Waxman is a true pioneer and with more people like him, we are sure to beat this deadly disease.”

Bryan would like to thank the following donors

Arielle Rodman
Cathy Shannon
Frederic Simon
James Spindler

Fundraising Goal: $3,500

Total Funds Raised: $3,425

Age: 27

Bio: Mike Wasilewski (pictured at left) has only been running for a little over one year. He started last year after watching friends run in the San Diego marathon and decided it was something he wanted to accomplish in his life.  Friend and colleague, Bryan Rodman, offered Wasilewski a spot in the ING New York City Marathon last year as a member of Team Waxman. “I raised more than $3,500 and finished with a time of 4 hours and 53 minutes,” he said. “I didn’t run the race for anyone in particular. I just wanted to see if I could finish the race and raise some money for a good cause along the way.”

But since completing his first marathon in 2009, Wasilewski has had a number of people in his life affected by cancer, including his grandmother (pictured below), aunt and a co-worker. This year, they are his reasons for running again and provide a sense of purpose and motivation during training. “I want to show them the support that they need as they battle the disease by running again,” he said. He and several of his co-workers at Radical Media have joined Team Waxman to raise money for cancer research. “We’re our own support group in running for this cause,” said Wasilewski. His personal goal time for the marathon is to run it in just 4 hours and he hopes to raise at least $3,500.

“Cancer doesn’t care who you are, how young or how old you are,” said Wasilewski. “But together, we can come together to beat this awful disease through funding important cancer research to help find a cure.”

Mike would like to thank the following donors:

Jill Anderson
James Baldwin
Richard Baldwin
Ruth Baldwin
Michael Banyas
Joe Berlinger
Scott Biel
Brooke Borel
Margaret and Mark Borel
Virginia Borel
Erin Campana
Dan and Monica Capogna
Nancy Cone
Dale Cooper
Becky Donato
Robyn Dutra
Henry Dziekan
Salvatore Dziekan
Bre Faulkner
Marc Frydman
Pete Garceau
Jonathan Hughes
Jiffy Iuen
Anne Johnson
Elizabeth and Joseph A. Klezovich
Barton Landsman
Maureen Lewis
Mike Lomanto
Lori Marino
Rimmon Pond Counseling, LLC
Jacquelina Rivera
Evan Schechtman
Cathy Shannon
Frederic Simon
James Spindler
Mary-Jo Valentino
Daniel Wasilewski
Karen Wasilewski
Madeline Wasilewski
Michael Wasilewski
Wendy Wen
Henry Yee

Fundraising Goal: $5,000

Total Funds Raised: $6,050

Age: 38

Bio: Jim Harrington (pictured above with his wife, Joan Genirs) has 13 marathons (8 of them run in New York City) under his belt. Despite taking the last two years off from marathon training after the arrival of his two daughters, Erin, 3, and Molly, 2, Harrington is up to training 10-12 miles on the weekends and runs every morning through Central Park before going to work. He even gets his daughters involved in his training regimen, pushing them up hills in the jogging stroller. His personal goal is to finish the ING NYC marathon in 3 hours and 20 minutes or better!

Though Harrington and his wife are longtime supporters of the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, it was the loss of Genirs’ mom to pancreatic cancer in 2002 and then the diagnoses of both of their fathers with prostate cancer that made their motivation to raise money for cancer research particularly urgent. “As the years go on, it seems like cancer is becoming even more prevalent and invading everyone’s family in one way or another,” said Genirs. “So we are that much more dedicated to help find a cure.”

Harrington and Genirs made a commitment that they would allocate their charitable giving for cancer research in sole support of the Waxman Foundation because they believe in the type of research the Foundation supports—reprogramming cancer cells to function normally and offering patients minimally toxic therapies to improve their quality of life. “We’ve seen what cancer can do from our family members,” said Genirs. “We firmly believe that the only thing that’s going to beat this disease is the investment in more experimental research from the Foundation.”

Jim would like to thank the following donors:
Peter M. Barsa
Thomas Campbell
Roisin Cooke
Lisa Francomano
Carol Genirs
Jean Marie Genirs
Joanie Genirs
Robert E. Genirs
Timothy Genirs
Barbara Germain
Erin and Molly Harrington
Marc Hellman
Jack Heyder
Mary Ellen Holbert
Jennifer Knight
Fred Madonna
Kristen Mika
Ed McCann
Dave McCarthy
Theresa L. Mercogliano
Kristen J. Mika
Curt Morley
Mark Murphy
KC O’Brien
Gregory Padavan
James Pucciarelli
Katherine H. Quinn
Patricia Sauer
Corinne Sloan
Catherine Wallace
Maureen Wallace

The ING NYC Marathon will take place on Nov. 7, 2010, and members of Team Waxman will once again participate to raise funds for cancer research.

Stay tuned to learn more about our runners and to read their bios!

www.waxmancancer.org/nycmarathon/