#BraveLikeJosh
Name: Josh Connell
Age: 34
Diagnosis: Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma
Years of Survivorship: 7 years
Location: Boston
Follow Josh on Instagram.
How has running or staying physically active affected your cancer journey?
I honestly don't know how I would have made it this far without running. A bad prognosis completely reshapes your life and steals away those long term dreams you had. I've always loved running, but before my diagnosis I hadn't taken it seriously for years. So rather than focusing on everything that cancer took from me, running lets me tackle life, one training block at a time.
What advice do you have for people on staying fit throughout their cancer treatment or recovery?
Never give up on a workout before you start it. When you feel awful and fatigued it can be so easy to get overwhelmed by what you need to do and just stay planted in bed or on the couch, but getting out the door can sometimes be the biggest hurdle. You might need to modify the plan, but don't take the zero unless you really have to.
What are some of your proudest accomplishments since being diagnosed with cancer?
Running the LA Marathon with the Running Buddies Project really stands out. The whole experience with them was amazing, and setting two PRs in one race is hard to beat! Finishing the DC North Face Endurance Challenge ranks pretty high as well, just for not DNFing from a combination of disease symptoms and side effects from treatment. Sometimes a really gritty, ugly race can be a huge mental benefit down the road. Lastly, running for the US Invictus Games team was really exciting. Getting to represent your country on the global stage isn't an experience many people get, so I feel incredibly fortunate to get to be a part of that!
How has Gabe's story impacted you or changed the way you view life as a cancer patient/survivor?
I had a lot of voices that were either very cautious or openly pessimistic about a return to training. Especially when you're a new patient, it's pretty easy to let that get to you and stop going after hard things. Seeing what Gabe was doing changed everything. We were on similar treatments, had similar prognoses, and she was still out absolutely sending it on the elite stage. I read an interview with her in Runners World and started a training plan the next day.
What does being #BraveLikeJOSH mean to you?
Being #BraveLikeJosh is all about continuing to push yourself. Especially after having a hard setback from treatment, surgery, or progression it can feel like you're spinning your wheels trying to chase physical goals. But finding new ways to train or challenge your body can do such amazing things for your treatment journey that it always pays off somehow!
What are you most looking forward to in the near future?
After spending a while focused on the track and road marathons, I’m super excited to be getting back to the trail and attempting my first 50k! Longer races have proved to be really tricky while trying to manage drug side effects and fatigue from heavier training is always tough to get through, but getting into the mountains is always a great experience.
