Windsor Police Capt.Tom LePore Earns 327% So Far...

Windsor Police Capt. Tom LePore knows something about following your instincts on the job, but he was a little taken aback when he found himself being called to serve as a volunteer triathlete for Team In Training.

The scenario started to unfold two years ago when his wife, Nicole, decided to get in shape with her ultimate goal of completing a triathlon; an athletic event involving swimming, bicycling and running.  LePore thought he'd keep her company and soon found out that he needed to keep up first.

Meanwhile, his friend Bob had been involved for years with Team In Training (TNT) a group that races to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. LePore was well aware that Bob was training and competing in honor of his son, Kyle, who was a leukemia patient but is now a healthy teenager. It started LePore thinking seriously about joining a TNT team to help other kids like Kyle.

Then this fall an extra push came when a family member had a cancer scare and a friend was diagnosed with cancer. That was enough for LePore to sign up with TNT.

"When God knocks on your door, you should answer," he said.

This is not a commitment to be taken lightly. LePore started his intense 16 week training in January to prepare for the  St. Anthony’s Olympic Distance Triathlon in St. Petersburg, FL on May 1.

He was running in the cold and snow, driving through the bleak pre-dawn to get to the pool, and riding a stationary bike in the basement. Fortunately, there really was a team, so that he could share his joy and misery with other Connecticut TNT-ers during their weekly training sessions.

And he had to do fund-raising.  TNT provides coaches to guide the athletes through the training and pays for the athlete's expenses to attend the races. Each athlete is expected to raise a minimum of $4,000. LePore decided to stretch a bit and put his goal at $5,000.

One of things he liked about TNT is that more than 76 percent of the funds raised are put toward program services including research.

Then LePore heard about Emily Johnson of Simsbury, a member of his church, Valley Brook Community in Granby. The formerly vibrant teen had been recently diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. With permission from Emily and her parents, LePore dedicated his TNT to her, in hopes that her story would raise awareness and inspire people to donate.

It worked. Word got out to family and friends via email and snail mail and the donations started coming. By March 3o, LePore had raised more than  $8,000. Perfect strangers contributed as well. A colleague approached and they commited 20 percent of their proceeds from a special dinner to the TNT cause, raising $495.40

To date, LePore has raised $16,330.40 to beat blood cancers, 327 percent of his goal. The best news is that Emily Johnson has finished her chemotherapy and is in remission.

"She can start making plans. She went to her prom with her boyfriend and looked beautiful," beams LePore.

Would he do it again? "Absolutely!," says LePore." I am committed to next year's event. The rewards were just amazing, personally and for the cause. The Connecticut team raised $100,000 to find medications and a cure for these cancers."

Donate and learn more about Team In Training by going to LePore's TNT  page.