Aug. 6, 2004
By Tara Spohrer, The Westbury Times
This story can also be found here.
Carle Place resident Allison Occhicone is training for the Vytra-Tobay Triathlon, which will take place on Aug. 22 in Oyster Bay. Occhicone, 25, is a member of the Long Island Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program.
According to Occhicone, "All of us on Team in Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives."
Occhicone is participating in this event in memory of her friend's sister, Heather, who lost her battle with lymphoma last year at the age of 29. Occhicone has completed three Team in Training events since that time. She participated in the 13.1-mile Long Island Marathon in May 2003, the Vytra-Tobay Triathlon in August 2003 and the Montauk Century Ride, which is a 100-mile bike ride, in May 2004.
Occhicone graduated Carle Place High School in 1996 where she was a member of the field hockey and lacrosse teams. She went on to play lacrosse at Marist College and now coaches field hockey and lacrosse at Carle Place.
In preparing for the triathlon, Occhicone has set aside time for both team and individual training. "We train as a team two times a week," Occhicone said. "We have swimming once a week at night. We also meet every weekend to swim, bike or run. The rest of the training is done on our own. Overall, we train five to six days a week to prepare for the three different events in the triathlon." The triathlon consists of a three-quarter mile swim, a 10-mile bike ride and a three-mile run.
All the participants in the event are part of the team. Each person will complete the event and raise money for an individual. According to Occhicone, "If someone is lucky enough not to know someone personally, then the society has people who you can race for." From her three previous events, Occhicone has raised almost $5,000 and she hopes to raise at least another $2,000 for the triathlon.
The Vytra-Tobay Triathlon is run by the Greater Long Island Running Club. Anyone interested in becoming involved with Team in Training can go to www.teamintraining.org and can support Occhicone by searching for her on the personal pages to find out how to donate to this cause.
"It is important to donate or get involved because every dollar raised will go toward leukemia research and patient assistance programs to help people like Heather and their families," said Occhicone. "The ultimate goal is to find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, myeloma and other blood related cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - the final cures!"
