On Sunday, Tracy Atfield will swim, bike and run in the Iron Girl Triathlon at Lake Lanier. The competition marks the fulfillment of a personal goal for the first-time competitor and the undertaking of a greater cause — helping her son and the nonprofit that assists people such as him.

"It's much more than a physical race," said Atfield, 37, whose 9-year-old son, Trey, has battled leukemia for two years. "There's much more meaning behind what we're doing."

Jason Getz/AJC (ENLARGE)

Runners get in their workout at the Galloway School as the sun sets in Atlanta. They are going to run a marathon in October in Chicago.

Jason Getz/AJC (ENLARGE)

Barbara Stinson of Atlanta encourages a runner she is coaching to participate in a marathon through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program.

LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY Reason nominated: Team in Training program Who benefits: Competitors and people living with leukemia and other blood cancers Lesson that can be learned: You can gain a lot from helping others. More Golden Carrots [an error occurred while processing this directive] TOPIC Atlanta corporate fitness Back to Health news

Each year, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society trains athletic hopefuls and athletes to participate in marathons, half-marathons, triathlons and 100-mile cycling events. Participants pay a $75 registration fee and agree to raise money toward funding research. The four- to five-month sessions include weekly bike rides, runs and walks, swims and track clinics that teach strength training and proper form.

"I might have gone out and done it [without the training], but it wouldn't have been pretty," Atfield said.

Since it began nationally in 1988, the society's Team in Training program has provided coaching and support to more than 360,000 people. The Georgia program launched in 1992 with 15 runners and now trains about 1,000 people each year to compete in about a dozen national events.

"We want to carry them to the finish line comfortably and safely," said Tommy Owens, head Georgia coach of the personalized fitness training taught by certified coaches. A combination of mental, emotional and physical preparation is needed to meet the demands of the events, he said.

"When it all comes together, it tends to be very emotional," said Owens, a marathon runner who joined the program in 1992 after his daughter died of leukemia. After more than 80 races, Owens said he still cries each time he crosses the finish line. "It's a relief and a joy," he said.

Former cross country runner Mallory Chandler knows the emotional toll of cancer. After winning an eight-year battle with cancer that removed her from the sport she enjoyed, Chandler struggled to beat the self-doubt that prevented her from running.

Repeatedly, she purchased shoes, headed off to run and after about a half-mile, she just stopped.

"I wasn't mentally prepared," said Chandler, who was diagnosed at 15 and formed an association between running and leukemia. Finally, on March 30, she left her Brookhaven neighborhood, circled Ashford Park and returned to her apartment complex — one full mile — and she wept.

"It was almost like beating chemo again," said Chandler, five years removed from chemotherapy and her cancer in remission. "I had finally conquered it."

Chandler runs about three miles a day, four days a week, along with lifting weights, doing core training and watching her diet to delay early onset of osteoporosis (a condition young adults are prone to following leukemia). She is training for the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco in October.

For more information: 678-279-2006, www.teamintraining.org/ga.

WHO DESERVES A CARROT?

Fortune 500 companies are not the only ones bringing people together to promote health and fitness. Neighborhood groups, offices, schools and churches also are finding ways to get people moving and to encourage a healthier lifestyle. In this regular feature, Better Health recognizes those organized efforts, large and small, that might inspire other groups to initiate their own programs. And we want to hear about them. Submit your Golden Carrot nominations to betterhealth@ajc.com.