Cyndi Elias, Kickin' Cancer's Butt

I first read heard about Cyndi Elias last October when I read her story in this "Turning Point" column in the Saint Paul Pioneer Press. At that point, she was training for the 2012 NYC Marathon. She was one of the many registered runners who travelled to NYC, only to (almost immediately) hear the marathon had been cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy.


Cyndi Elias

Fast forward 6 months and 4-time cancer survivor Elias is again featured in "Turning Point." This time she's training for a new challenge, the Million Dollar Marathon Coast to Coast for Cancer.

According to the Million Dollar Marathon website:

On June 21st, The Million Dollar Marathon will begin it’s 4000 mile relay across America. The Team will be made up of all those that Cancer has touched. Survivors, Caregivers, Advocates, all working together to beat this disease. One marathon at a time, the event will cross 15 states and more than 500 communities as the baton is passed from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

During their journey, team members will run from Mount Rainier to the Great Salt Lake, over the Rockies to the Great Plains, on to the Appalachians and past the Chesapeake Bay. As they run, each day will turn to night and clear skies will fill with storms. Yet through the darkness and rain, their baton will not stop – because these runners know that dawn always follows night and that the darkest storms create the brightest rainbows.

As a member of The Million Dollar Marathon team, [runners] will be dedicating one marathon, one day to the cause. Each day the team will run 4 marathons. In total [participants] will run 160 marathons. During this extraordinary journey, [participants] will take more than l0,000,000 steps. Ten million steps to honor the past and inspire the future. Ten million steps toward a cure.

Elias is hoping to raise $7,500 in pledges. Visit her personal Million Dollar Marathon page for more information.

From Elias fundraising page:

"I’m running the Coast to Coast Marathon for myself, to show cancer that I’m going to keep kicking butt. I’m also running in honor of so many people that I’ve met along this journey, cancer patients who continue to inspire me, and especially those who have lost their battle with this horrible disease. Since we won’t be running through Minnesota, I’m not sure where I’ll run – I think I’ll request the most beautiful, most remote stretch of the course!" — Cyndi Elias