The title is a metaphor, of course—but in this case, it’s also literal. The author and his wife Shari were inspired by Team In Training (TNT), a fundraising arm of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, to train for and run a marathon.
TNT raises vast amounts of money for medical research, by getting even couch potatoes to participate in some kind of extreme athletic event like a marathon, 100-mile bike ride, or even an Iron Man triathlon.
The book interweaves David and Shari’s personal journey, David’s four-step GAIN goal achievement formula that he uses with his coaching clients (first introduced on p. 6 and throughout the book), and the personal stories of athlete participants and blood cancer patients—including the organization’s founder and his teenage daughter Kim Costa’s Ten Life Lessons (written shortly before her death, pp. 98-100).
What I found most interesting, and the reason I chose to review this book even though it seems to be out of print (though widely available on the second-hand market) is TNT’s marketing and fundraising strategy. It’s so different from that of many other causes, focused as it is on individual and team-based athletic achievement. Yes, I know, squillions of charities use athletic events to raise money. But typically, these have much more modest standards and don’t require extensive training.
Participating in one of these extreme events, especially for those starting from a very sedentary lifestyle, requires several months of arduous training. And to fundraise at scale, most of us need to develop parts of our personality that might be in hiding. It’s a great example of my long-time claim that successful social change businesses need to appeal both to self-interest and to the greater public interest.
On the self-interest side, TNT athletes get in shape, bond with others, build community, and feel like they’re making a difference. And in the public interest, they are raising money for research that is helping actual people, including their “honored patient.”
TNT motivates its athletes by letting them build a personal connection with an actual cancer patient. The athlete wears a facsimile of the patient’s hospital ID bracelet and might pin a picture of that cancer hero on the back of their jersey. TNT trains them with a huge organization of more than 800 coaches around the country and the world, in small groups where they can build community around their common purpose. And there’s lots of emphasis on finding and nurturing the support that will nurture you. For instance, Jacobson identifies eight different types of support networks (pp. 60-62). And he recognizes that asking for the support you need might itself be a new challenge (pp. 64, 72).
Jacobson moves back into the coaching role near the end of the book, with a great list of 50 questions to ask yourself as you look at your goals (aimed at teens but useful for any age, pp. 169-171), and seven implementation questions (p. 173). And I love his exhortation to think big in order to act big (pp. 178-179).
