Team Brave Like Gabe x 2024 TCS NYC Marathon
We are honored to introduce our Brave Like Gabe Charity Team running the TCS NYC Marathon on November 3rd, 2024!
This incredible team is made up of ACC survivors, caretakers, rare cancer advocates and those bravely persisting through hard things. Each runner has bravely shared their own stories that connected them to the mission of the Brave Like Gabe Foundation. Please read more below about why each of these runners chose to sign up for 26.2 miles in New York City below.
Amanda Black
“After watching The Courage to Run and hearing Gabe's story, I was inspired to train for my first marathon. In October 2021, I ran my first marathon, turned 40, and was diagnosed with breast cancer all in three weeks time. It was a whirlwind to say the least. Today, as a cancer survivor training for my next marathon, Gabe's story continues to inspire me to keep running on hope. To honor Gabe, it is an absolute pleasure to raise money for rare cancer research and run in celebration of her life and legacy.”
Alexis Stephens
“In 2018, my dad developed a lump in his submandibular gland that ended up being diagnosed as ACC. I was a newly fledged Physician Assistant working, ironically, in Otolaryngology. I had never heard of ACC and the physicians I worked with at the time told me they had only seen a handful of cases in their 20-40 year careers. My family was shocked when we read about how there were very few treatment options, and no definitive cure. He was just about to start a trial drug this past February 2024 when he passed away. This fundraiser is a labor of love, not only in memorial of my father, but to those that have been/or will be impacted by a rare cancer in the future and their families.”
Britt Boulanger
“I am excited and honored to be running the 2024 New York City Marathon with team Brave Like Gabe along side my close friend and running partner, Sue Morse. In 2020, Sue was diagnosed with ACC, a rare salivary gland cancer. Gabe’s optimism and outlook have been a major inspiration to her and her family over the last four years. This will be Sue's third marathon since her diagnosis! I am honored to be a part of this team and honored to train and run with Sue.”
Christina Huber
“I started following Gabe's journey many years ago as she grew up in the same town as my husband in Perham, MN. Her story was incredibly heartbreaking while also inspiring, and I was sad to hear of her passing in 2019. I was ecstatic to learn that I could earn the opportunity to join the Brave Like Gabe team at the NYC Marathon in November and raise awareness of rare cancer and fundraise on behalf of Gabe. I do not take a single day for granted that I am physically able to do something like this, and I thank you endlessly in advance for your generosity and support. It means so much to me, Gabe's family, and those effected by cancer.”
Elizabeth Schoenknecht
“What a privilege it is to raise money for the Brave Like Gabe Foundation. I had the honor of meeting Gabe Grunewald at a podcast recording about 8 months before she passed away from adenoid cystic carcinoma. It was hard to imagine she had battled so much illness throughout her life and professional running career. She was full of life, joy, and inspiration. It is the kind of inspiration I want to carry with me in my running and life journey. ”
Gary Mayeux
“I am passionate about this campaign for three reasons:
1. Cancer sucks
2. I can’t imagine losing someone I love, especially as young as Gabe.
3. I have watched Justin’s (Grunewald) passion for Brave Like Gabe and it inspires me. I believe that Gabe’s tenacity inspired him, he inspires others, and this can create a ripple effect to continue improving the world for the better.”
Jen Polverari
“Here are some of the ways that my rare cancer of mesothelioma resonates with Gabe’s. Both mesothelioma and adenoid cystic carcinoma are rare cancers. Like Gabe, dealing with a rare cancer often involves navigating uncertainties, limited treatment options and seeking specialized medical advice. Gabe continued to train and compete at a high level despite her diagnosis and treatment. My journey with mesothelioma also involves facing numerous physical and emotional challenges yet maintaining hope and strength.”
Kaila Schippani
“Both of my rockstar parents have had to deal with multiple kinds of cancer, and scares, and stressors. I am running for them and I am running for Gabe Grunewald whose story made a huge impact on me after watching the 'Courage to Run' documentary with Chip Gaines.
My perfect puppy, Alice ("Al" for short), and I will be training together to show what it's like to stay disciplined, driven, and positive throughout tough times to mirror what Gabe was all about.”
Kylee Uden
“Gabe’s story and legacy continues with the Brave Like Gabe Foundation to inspire others to share their own struggles while also helping to find better, more effective treatments for rare cancers. I am excited to raise money on behalf of the Brave Like Gabe Foundation. It is going to be an amazing experience to run through New York's five boroughs- Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Manhattan- all while raising money for rare cancer research!”
Maura Desmarais
“This is a cause that is close to my heart as my husband Greg was diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC) in 2020. He underwent surgery to remove the cancer and received 33 rounds of radiation . With an average of 1,224 people in the United States annually diagnosed with ACC, it is considered a rare cancer. I am hoping to raise awareness of ACC and raise money for research for rare cancers. Your donation to my fundraiser supports Brave Like Gabe and critical rare cancer research.”
Pat Hull
“The founder Gabe had ACC and my sister Susan LaRuche does to. This is an equal opportunity cancer and can strike anyone regardless of any risk factors. There is no cure. The private sector has largely overlooked these rare diseases so funding comes from these non-profits. Your donation to my fundraiser helps support Brave Like Gabe and patients that have ACC. Susan LaRuche is the Bravest person I know. She goes through all this with courage and dignity. But we need treatment options.”
Saul Escobar
“In 2019 I was unexpectedly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the age of 28. Hearing the words ‘cancer’ as I sat in that Emergency Department alone, afraid, and uncertain, was a life altering experience. Throughout my cancer journey I battled through chemotherapy, total body radiation and a bone marrow transplant which was not only tasking on my physical health, but on my mental and emotional health as well. Running soon became my refuge. It became my outlet and escape from the reality of my cancer diagnosis. Running gave me the opportunity to feel ALIVE in moments and periods when life felt so uncertain.”
Shawn Elizabeth George
“I’m Shawn, a wife and mom of three from Connecticut. I am running in memory of those in our ACC family we have lost, for those in our ACC family still in the fight, for all the warriors who are NED (No Evidence of Disease), and I am also running for myself as an ACC warrior who is NED. I have struggled this past year with the fear of ACC returning. This couch-to-marathon journey will help refine me mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. When the opportunity to join the Brave Like Gabe team and run the NYC Marathon came, I felt nauseous because I am not a runner. Yet I still said yes. Why?
Because I get to.”
Sue Morse
“Brave Like Gabe funds research for more treatment options and potential cures for all rare cancers. Although there is no cure yet for ACC and many other rare cancers, there are promising trials in the pipeline and that gives us hope. Hope keeps us moving forward. Hope that someday there will be FDA approved drugs for all rare cancers and options for anyone that has to hear they have a rare cancer diagnosis.”