In the early still-dark morning, when alarm clocks jar them into half-sleep, it’s thoughts of children suffering from leukemia that drive Cindy Cupit Swenson, Ph.D., and Todd Williams, M.D., to will their feet to the floor, dress in work-out clothes, and hit the road for a grueling five- to 10-mile run.

Swenson, a clinical psychologist with MUSC’s Family Services Research Center, and Williams in the Department of Radiation Oncology are members of Charleston’s Team-In-Training representing the Leukemia Society of America in the San Diego Marathon on Jan. 18. In addition to their marathon training, the two are collecting $2,500 each in contributions and pledges to the Leukemia Society for the privilege of running a 26.2 mile-stretch of coastal highway and beaches in San Diego, Calif.

“I’ve had leukemia,” Williams said, describing an early adulthood of treatments that included two bone marrow transplants. “I’m a cancer survivor, but I’m running in honor of my sister. She donated the bone marrow that kept me alive.”

Team-In-Training members often focus on a leukemia victim to whom they dedicate their hours of pavement-pounding training, their requests for contributions, and finally the completion of a marathon run. As for Swenson, “I’m running in honor of several children, some of whom are my patients and in memory of one,” she said. She explained that she has seen a number of children with cancer and their families in her practice and she sees the profound effect the disease has on everyone it touches.

“When I get up in the morning to go for a run, I think about the kids I know with leukemia. And I think about their parents getting them up early to come in here for treatment. When you’re 4 years old, you shouldn’t have to go through that. What I’m doing for them is trivial by comparison.” What Swenson and Williams are doing is committing themselves to a daily regimen of diet, fitness training and distance running to support research into improved treatments and care for leukemia patients.

Both were runners before the challenge of completing a marathon came to mind. But they ran for stress release and fitness only. “For me it was the quickest way to get the most exercise in the shortest time,” Williams said. He began running in the high-stress, time-constrained environment of medical school, felt the benefits, and has kept it up at a pace of about 10 miles a week ever since. His wife, Mary, plans to run the marathon with him, but not as a part of the Team-In-Training.

“I’ve been running for about four years,” Swenson said. “I did the (Cooper River) Bridge Run, and a friend challenged me to take on this marathon for leukemia.” She said that training began in July with bi-weekly team meetings and distance runs. Swenson and Williams train on their own for relatively short distances during the week, and join the full team on Sunday mornings for distance runs that have now extended to 20 miles.

“It’s amazing the amount of progress I’ve made. I used to be intimidated by 12 miles. Now it’s just a regular event,” Swenson said. “The health and stress-release benefits are noticable, and the running has helped me manage a period of grief that could have been an emotional roller coaster.”

The Charleston Team-In-Training is part of a larger state team that makes up a national Leukemia Society Marathon Team that will run in marathon races in Orlando, Fla., the island of Bermuda, and in San Diego during the next year. The Leukemia Society of America Team-In-Training program has been training runners and walkers to achieve their fitness and marathon goals for more than five years. More than 600 team members have successfully finished a marathon while raising $2.5 million to support the Leukemia Society’s programs of research and patient service.

To help them raise $2,500 each for the Leukemia Society, call Swenson at 792-6948 or Williams at 792-3271.