Little Silver Police Officer: "I Run. You Donate."

Officer Amanda Arnold may be trained to carry a firearm and respond to dangerous situations, but she says her upcoming run in the NJ Marathon has her feeling "super nervous."

Arnold, who grew up in , is turning that nervous energy around and using the May 6 race as a platform to raise money to help fight leukemia. She's seen first hand the devastating effects of the disease as it took the life of a close friend's 23-year old brother and also touched her uncle.

"It's something that inspires you to want to help out," she says.

So when the first-time marathoner began to think about training for the race, she turned to the Team in Training arm of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society that provides extensive support to prepare to run 26.2 miles in exchange for fund raising.

"I run. You donate," she writes on her fund raising page.

The former field hockey player says she's "shocked and excited" to have already exceeded her fund raising goals, which she had initially set at $2,123 (the "23" is in honor of her high school jersey and a lucky number).

To date, she's raised about $1,000 over her goal and hopes to continue to receive donations up until race day.

While she says she's been a lifelong athlete and went on to play Division One field hockey at Ohio State, Arnold says she is new to the sport of running. She combined a trip to South America a few weeks ago to run the half marathon portion of the Maraton de Santiago, which she calls "remarkable" and the timing fit perfectly with her training schedule.

Arnold, 27, joined the Little Silver Police Department in October and says she's grateful for the support she's received from the department.

She says it's the encouragement she's received from others that's helped keep her confidence up. "To have people say that they believe in me, helps me believe in myself," she says.

To support Arnold in her fight to raise money to find a cure for leukemia, click here.