When she starting working at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Westchester/Hudson Valley Chapter five years ago, Erika Francisco never anticipated how her job would change her whole life.

 

When she starting working at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Westchester/Hudson Valley Chapter five years ago, Erika Francisco never anticipated how her job would change her whole life.

Now a senior campaign director, Ms. Francisco started out as a Campaign Coordinator working on the Society’s Team In Training (TNT) program. She says she loves working with people making a difference and is proud to be part of an organization trying to find a cure for cancer.
Along the way, she’s met many participants and developed friendships with several of them.

One of them is Michael Dimson, who works in real estate and had been cycling with Team In Training for many years in honor of a good friend who was battling leukemia. He enjoyed the weekend training sessions with the coaches, the supportive team atmosphere, and knowing he was helping to raise much-needed funds for those battling blood cancer.

 

Ms. Francisco started cycling herself, and in 2010 the two were enjoying training together for America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride in Lake Tahoe. The bond they felt as teammates soon developed into something stronger.

 

“We were friends for a long time and then things changed,” she recalls. “I was having trouble at the switchbacks along the Lake Tahoe route. Michael helped me and continued to ride the first 50 miles with me. It was then I realized the kind of person he was.”

 

He adds, “Being a part of Team In Training was a life-changing experience. I now have my training partner for life.”

 

They became engaged in 2011 and started house hunting last summer. “We fell in love with Rye — the community, the beach, the character of the town — and bought a house close to Rye Town Park. Running on the Boardwalk is a great way to begin the day,” said Ms. Francisco.

 

While busy planning their wedding, the couple is also training for the New York City Half Marathon with TNT March 18. They look forward to celebrating with their TNT family at another destination, in Florida, where they will be married October 7.  

 

On Valentine’s Day, they’ll likely watch an old movie, “one neither of us has seen before.”

 

— With reporting by Robin Jovanovich