Local Eye Doctor Celebrates 50th Birthday by Running Marathon and Raising Funds for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

(South Brunswick, NJ, 09/26/17) - Optometrist Jonathan Fishbein, OD, owner of Somerset Eye Care in North Brunswick, will be running the TCS NYC Marathon on Sunday, November 5, 2017. Dr. Fishbein is training with Team In Training and raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) to fund blood cancer research, patient programs & services, and advocacy.

Team In Training is LLS’s charity sports endurance training program. Participants of this endurance sports program train for marathons, half marathons, cycling events, triathlons and hike adventures. Events offered are local, national and sometimes international. Participants receive coaching and attend topic-based clinics while they fundraise for LLS. Fundraising tools and resources are also provided.

Residents of South Brunswick since 1998, Dr. Fishbein and his wife, Bethany Fishbein, OD, are local business owners since opening Somerset Eye Care in 2001. Dr. Bethany Fishbein first became involved with Team in Training in 2009 in memory of her father, Bud Bernstein, who had recently passed away.
Bud was a Leukemia survivor, having received experimental treatments in 1973.
After fundraising and training for several triathlons, a century bike ride, and a marathon with Team in Training, she passed the baton to Jonathan.

The TCS NYC Marathon will be Dr. Fishbein’s third marathon, having previously ran the San Diego Marathon in 2012, and the Marine Corps Marathon in 2013. As his 50th birthday loomed on the horizon, Dr. Fishbein decided to embrace the milestone rather than dread it. To that end, he looks forward to the tackling the challenge of another marathon, which happens to fall exactly one month after his birthday.
In addition to Bethany's father, The Fishbeins have also fundraised to honor friends and patients who
have been fighting blood cancer in its various forms. They feel fortunate to have connected to this
group, which helps find cures and ensure access to treatments for blood cancer patients. Donations to
LLS help fund treatments that save lives every day; like immunotherapies that use a person’s own
immune system to kill cancer.

“Team In Training provides a great opportunity to be active, help a worthwhile cause like LLS, and meet new friends while training”, said Dr. Fishbein, who was hesitant to sign up for his first event having only just started running a few years prior. “I thought I wouldn’t enjoy running with a group of people, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. On the team training days it really helps to run with people for encouragement and companionship. Those ‘Saturday long runs’ have become a highlight of my week.”

Together, The Fishbeins have raised over $20,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Dr. Fishbein hopes to get that figure to over $25,000 through his multiple fundraising activities like selling boxes in a Super Bowl pool and collecting donations through a clothing drive for the TCS NYC Marathon.

Over the next two months, if you see him on a training run on the streets and parks of South Brunswick, North Brunswick, Franklin Township or Princeton, then be sure to give a honk and wave!

If you wish to donate to LLS to support this cause, then you can do so here http://pages.teamintraining.org/nj/nyc17/jfishbein.

To learn more about Team Caldwell, Team In Training and the NJ Marathon event, call 908.956.6643 or email Margo at Margarita.Cianchetta@lls.org.

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ® (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency

dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Rye Brook, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org. Patients should contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.