Home Page

cache/wst.opf.726348.xml

Dear Friends,

On March 16, 2007, the Leave a Legacy Foundation was created to honor the life of our dear friend Laura and to strengthen the cancer resources in southwest Kansas. Laura died at the tender age of 30 after a six year battle with brain cancer. She walked through it all with such beauty and grace, and always with a wink and smile on her face!

In our efforts to strengthen resources to fight cancer in southwest Kansas, the Leave a Legacy Foundation has provided St. Catherine Hospital the funds necessary to purchase life-saving equipment to diagnose and treat the residents of southwest Kansas. The Leave a Legacy Foundation has gifted St. Catherine Hospital, the only not-for-profit hospital serving the needs of southwest Kansas, more than $60,000 to help make a difference in the services available to those in our area.

“Laura’s Touches” are given once a month to patients taking chemo or radiation at the Cancer Center to encourage them in their fight. Touches have included cookies from Herb’s, Chamber of Commerce Gift Certificates, fuel cards, lunch from Samy’s, Legacy Cookbooks, and mum plants, just to name a few. The funds to continue “Laura’s Touches” are generated through a silent auction held each year following the Legacy 10K and Spirit 5K races.

Our goal for 2012 was to raise $20,000! We are happy to say we accomplished this goal! We used that money to provide a free cancer screening (skin, prostate, breast) evening in November and are making a donation to the digital mammography machine for St. Catherine Hospital. Early detection is key to treating all types of cancer. It is our hope that by providing free screenings and assisting with the purchase of digital mammography equipment - we can help save lives in southwest Kansas.

Thank you for your support in continuing our fight against cancer in southwest Kansas!

Kindest regards,

Leave a Legacy Foundation

Leave A Legacy Foundation News...

On January 10, 2013 members of the Leave a Legacy Foundation presented a check for $20,000 to St. Catherine Hospital's Digital Mammography Program.

Thanks to all of you who have helped us grow not only in 2012 but for the last 6 years. We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything without the support of our friends, family and wonderful community.

Laura's Touches...

Each month the Leave a Legacy Foundation does what we call Laura's Touches, small gifts to let the patients at the St. Catherine Hospital Cancer Center know that others are out there thinking of them and praying for the recovery from cancer. Funds to support Laura's Touches are always welcome and are donated outside of funds received from the Legacy 10K and Spirit 5K.

To make your donation contact LLF at:
PO Box 734
Garden City, Kansas 67846.

Training Tips from Josh Wolf / KONA IRONMAN

"The best way to prepare for a 10k is following a proper, 8-12 week periodized program, which has you increasing mileage for 2-3 weeks and then decreases mileage for 1 week. This work and rest combo is what allows the body to adapt the change and ultimately get faster. Contrary to popular belief, fitness comes with rest, not stimulus. A good 10k program increases mileage, frequency and intensity with recovery in mind, stair-casing your fitness up to peak for the race.

Here's a simple example of a program mid-way through: let's say you have a program when you're running Mon, Wed, Fri and Sun. Monday may be an "easy" day of 2 miles at a very comfortable pace. Wed could be a "hard" day of 3 miles of intervals/track workout. Friday could be a "moderate" day when you run 2-3 miles at race pace. Then Sunday would be your long day, where you'd run 4 miles. Well the next week you could hold Mon-Fri's mileage, and increase Sunday's run to 5 miles. The next week you could do .5 more miles Friday and Sunday. Then you would bring the distance of Friday back down to 2-3, and Sunday down to 3 miles. This would allow for the body to rest slightly and adapt to the strain from the previous few weeks.

The golden rule is to never increase your mileage more then 10% each week. Doing so increases your propensity for injury, fatigue and burnout. I always say it is better to be 15% undertrained then it is to be 1% overtrained come race day. :)"

Josh Wolf has completed 40 triathlons, 4 Ironmans and qualified for/raced in the Ironman World Championships in Kona. He is a current endurance coach, personal trainer and health consultant. Here a blip form his blog about the last tenth of a mile of the 140.6 mile race:

"....I made the turn onto Alii drive (where the finish line is) and was all smiles. That was the whole goal. Smile like I did in my first ironman. And I was thrilled. Just to have raced in this race, had fun while doing it, overcome a little bit of doubt…what a day. I searched the crowd for the Who’s Your Laura Flag. I had taken this thing all the way across Kansas 1 month before, trying to live the words of Leaving a Legacy: spread the feeling of hope through endurance. I wanted to end my season as I should: dedicating it to the life of someone who had a heart bigger than mine…that has the endurance of a pro…who, although lost her life to cancer, still lives in us through endurance. I wanted to take the flag across the line with me.

Seeing it off to the right, I grabbed it and headed to the finish line. Incredible. The crowd shouting. The chute covered in flowers and green leaves Hawaiians used to use for their kings. The day entire day flashed through my mind...

I slowed down to a jog, then to a walk then stood on the small riser. Holding the flag up high I pumped it in the air, looked to the sky and soaked in the moment that will last a lifetime. As I heard Mike Riley announce, “Josh Wolf, you are an Ironman!” I couldn’t help but think "darn straight I am." :)

Main Navigation

Home Page