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So I decided to replace my planned post-Christmas blog for today, “To Return It or Re-Gift It? That is the Question,” with something a little more meaningful.

My friends at Cures Rock! just passed along the following announcement, which immediately inspired me to replace a few of my shallow New Year's resolutions with more meaningful ones that serve to do some good for others in the year ahead. Just something to think about as you finalize your own resolutions for 2010 ...

On January 1, 2010, veteran marathoner Mike Sheehy and his support team will run from San Diego to Phoenix, covering an ultra-marathon distance of 31 miles each day for 17 consecutive days to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). The Cures Rock! Tour will push out from Cancer Survivors Park in Downtown San Diego to do something no one has ever attempted, all in the name of curing blood cancers. Sheehy and supporters will finish the 500-mile trek by running in the 2010 PF Chang Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon on January 17.

“The Cures Rock! Tour is a mission, and not just a one-time mission, to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on educating others about new treatments and patient care for cancer survivorship,” says Greg Dowell, tour spokesperson. “We’re hoping that by running through 44 cities and two states in 17 days, we’ll raise a lot more support.”

Nearly 140,000 cases of blood cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. annually, accounting for 9.5 percent of all cancer deaths. The Tour is aiming to raise $100,000 to support cancer research and health management resources of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) while raising awareness of blood disorders.

“I began this journey in 2006 when my co-worker Julie Westcott contracted Leukemia. I set out to raise a few bucks for the LLS with TEAM in Training for Julie. She got well, then relapsed this year and my passion to help find a cure is 100 percent stronger,” says Mike Sheehy, the runner that will complete the journey. “As grueling as 17 Ultra-marathons will be, it’s not close to the challenge cancer patients like Julie faces in chemotherapy.”

Team members will visit cancer care hospitals along the route to Phoenix to provide support for families impacted by blood cancer and the staff of doctors and nurses fighting the disease. The Cures Rock! Team members are either survivors of cancer themselves or personally connected to the cause through family members and friends.

The Tour will cover 30-mile segments from San Diego through Carlsbad, Temecula, Beaumont, Palm Springs, Yucca Valley and through Twenty Nine Palms. Crossing the desert along California Route 62, Cures Rock! will enter the Grand Canyon State at Parker, Arizona, then head east through Salome, Buckeye, Avondale and into the Valley of the Sun for the final three days.

Cures Rock! Ultra Run Tour is a philanthropic organization benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society; corporate sponsors include Smart & Final and ProFlowers. The Tour encourages donations for the LLS through their Web site, www.curesrocktour.com and check out www.curesrock.org

Pictured above (from left to right): Colin Eckelman, Jennifer Reardon, Suzanne Ellard, Mike Sheehy, Julie Westcott, Angie VanderBurgh, Greg Dowell, Bill Martin.