Running thru Illness - #Unstoppable Women Athletes You Should Know

In honor of our ‘Pink Power’ campaign which aims to raise money to help fight breast cancer and support women, we wanted to bring to your attention some inspiring women runners who have been directly impacted by illness. These women ‘can’t stop won’t stop’ when it comes to using running as a tool to keep themselves mentally and physically healthy and strong as they fight to regain control of their health.

Follow: @gigrunewald - Brave Like Gabe Cancer Fighter!

Rare cancer survivor, professional runner, coach (to Chip Gaines!), Brave Like Gabe founder, wife, sister, friend...Gabe Grunewald is just plain inspiring. A rare cancer diagnosis while still in college and again more recently hasn’t stopped Gabe from having a positive outlook and finding the motivation to run and train hard. Gabe gets real on a recent episode of The Morning Shakeout, “I grew up with faith and I do think that my life has a purpose—and maybe it’s not what I thought it was going to be, but I think that it does help me at some junctures with this disease. This isn’t how I would have chosen my life to turn out at all but maybe this is my way of fulfilling my life’s purpose and trying to raise awareness for these rare diseases that really do actually need it. I would never have raised my hand to do this, but someone has to.” So, follow this #unstoppable woman - and better yet, donate to Brave Like Gabe!

Read more about Gabe here.

Follow: @running_from_cancer - Breast Cancer Survivor!

Her recent posts says it all! @running_from_cancer states: “BEAT CANCER • 6 rounds of chemo • 1 year of targeted therapy infusions • 2 surgeries • 34 rounds of radiation • countless blood tests. Needles. scans. doctors. So many doctors. questions. answers • TEARS • hormone therapy. Hot flashes. Fatigue. Biopsies. Scars. So many scars. A new normal. A new day. A new life. CANCER FREE • 3 Miles in the rain 💕...I started this IG to show that through all of that, you can have this. You can find strength and trust in your body and your mind. And you can fall down and get back up, And you might not be the same after that fall but you figure it out because you have to, and you CAN. Survivorship is a rollercoaster and I’m not sure when or if this ride ever ends but I’m just gonna keep running through all of it • and you all mean more to me than you’ll ever know so THANK YOU”

Follow: @ironwillironjill - Ironwoman Slaying Arthritis

This mother of four, ironman, marathoner and ultramarathoner lives daily with rheumatoid arthritis threatening to derail her life and fitness goals. Being in constant pain means struggling to differentiate between illness and injury, it means pushing harder when laying off would be much easier - and for Jill, it means finding the silver linings always. “We all have obstacles or battles we face. It is how we choose to face them that makes all the difference! And I choose GRATITUDE!!”

Despite Jill’s physical struggles, she is deep in training for her first ever 100-miler this December. If your looking for a healthy dose of perspective and a reason to ditch your excuses and show up every single day - we suggest following along on Jill’s journey.

Follow: @agazelle74 - Snake Bite AND Brain Tumor Survivor!

If a venomous snake bite wasn’t going to stop this woman from running, then we probably shouldn’t have been surprised that a brain tumor wasn’t going to either. This #unstoppable mom, hospice nurse, ultramarathoner and all-around badass has not been dealt the easiest hand - and yet, she keeps getting up, getting outside and getting after it! Just take a note from Jenn and you’ll be ready to aim high and work hard to get there, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. It’s the same for all of us, no matter what social media makes it look like. We dream big. We fall hard. And we’re scared shitless (or I am anyway) My wish for all of you today is that you can start where YOU are”