Through Stage 4 Breast Cancer, Christine Fischer Will Run NYC Marathon to 'Celebrate What My Body Can Do' (Exclusive)

Christine Fischer has watched her husband, professional runner Reed Fischer, compete in many marathons.

“I have no fault with Reed, but his races never inspired me to run marathons,” says Christine, 30, laughing along with Reed in a recent interview with PEOPLE.

Then at last year’s TCS New York City Marathon (NYCM), something changed. Christine is usually only at the races to watch Reed, 29, run through the 26.2-mile course in about 2 hours 15 minutes (he finished 10th overall in the 2022 race), before heading out with him to conferences for pressure and recovery time. But in 2023, Reed dropped out around mile 14, which meant Christine was able to hang out and watch runners of all speeds cross the finish line for the first time.

“It was so inspiring to watch them go by,” she says. “That’s actually what sparked my interest in marathon running. And I said, ‘You know what? Maybe I want to escape!’ ”

Reed and Christine Fischer at the Bolder Boulder, an annual 10-kilometer race in Boulder, Colo., on May 27, 2019.

Josh Cox

Pro marathoner Reed Fischer to race NYC with wife Christine — and her stage 4 cancer — in mind (Exclusive)

Christine – an elite runner herself – is far from your average hobby runner. But as a fifth-grade teacher in Boulder, Colo., who was diagnosed with stage 4 oligometastatic breast cancer in early 2023, Christine said watching thousands of other people — with stories she didn’t know — during last year’s marathon helped her see the challenges of racing through a different lens, with an eye toward “joy-oriented” training.

On Sunday, November 3, she will join 49 other educators selected by NYCM’s title sponsor Tata Consultancy Services to run 16.2 miles through New York City as part of Team TCS Teachers.

“When I get in line in New York, I’ll be about two years into diagnosis and treatment,” says Christine. “And now I’m planning my life in front of me.”

Christine and Reed Fischer, after her spinal biopsy at Boulder Community Health-Foothills on Feb. 10, 2023.

Courtesy of Reed and Christine Fischer

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Christine was diagnosed with breast cancer on January 10, 2023 after finding a 3.5 centimeter lump in her breast while putting on a sports bra for running. By then the cancer had spread to her spine and sacrum.

In an interview with PEOPLE last year, Christine said she felt a “loss of control” after her diagnosis.

The couple who got married in 2021 wanted to start a family. But after her diagnosis, the plans for the future seemed to belong to someone else.

Christine started googling her prospects – and they looked dismal. She read posts on the Internet that predicted she would only live another one to three years, at most.

Christine Fischer (pictured with a cooling cap) began chemotherapy in February 2023.

Courtesy of Reed and Christine Fischer

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She quickly began chemotherapy, using painful cooling caps designed to induce hypothermia of her scalp so her hair would remain during the process. She also continued to run, sometimes as little as half a mile.

Nearly two years later — now on a daily pill with a monthly injection of hormone therapy and bone-strengthening infusions every three months, along with routine tests and blood work — there is no evidence of cancer in her body, although with stage 4 patients, doctors shy away from using the term “remission”.

And while it’s impossible to know the future, the couple is still planning for it.

Reed and Christine Fischer hike the Salkantay Trail in Peru in June 2024.

Courtesy of Christina Fischer

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Before starting treatment, Christine froze her eggs, and since the future of cancer treatment is uncertain, making it impossible to have a child safely, the couple began trying to find a surrogate.

They also began filling their schedules with epic adventures. In June, Christine and Reed traveled to Peru, where they hiked Machu Picchu during the winter solstice.

The Fischers atop the Salkantay Pass, 15,090 feet above sea level, during a hike in Peru in June 2024.

Courtesy of Christina Fischer

And this school year, Christine — who played varsity basketball — is coaching the fifth- through eighth-grade girls team at Boulder Country Day School.

Teaching 10- and 11-year-olds and coaching a high school team is all about giving them a chance “to try something new in a safe environment,” she says. “And maybe they fail and try again and eventually succeed — or take away all those lessons they learned along the way from those failures, and that’s just as important.”

And her students became part of Christine’s own marathon story—pushing their own limits—when TCS and Reed dropped by her classroom last May with the surprise announcement that she had been selected to lead New York.

In the months that followed, Reed — who will be cheering her on along the route and “ready to give her a big, sweaty hug and kiss” on Nov. 3 — wrote a training program, coaching her through long runs and bike rides alongside her.

Christine Fischer races in the Medtronic TC 10 Mile in Minneapolis, Minn. October 6, 2024 Christine raised money for the Brave Like Gabe Foundation, named after middle distance runner Gabriele Grunewald, who died in 2019 from an incurable rare cancer of the salivary glands.

Courtesy of Christina Fischer

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Recalling that running through chemotherapy was “the greatest grace I ever gave myself,” Christine says she brings that same compassion to her marathon.

Her training is about “being proud of where I am right now,” she says. “Because a year ago I wasn’t here, and two years ago I never would have thought that this could be a reality for me now.”

On race day, she wants to “be present in the moment and celebrate all the work we’ve done.”

Christine Fischer celebrates her entry into the 2024 marathon with her fourth grade class on May 20, 2024. She now teaches fifth graders.

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However, she has a big goal: she would like to qualify for the Boston Marathon, run through New York in less than three hours and 25 minutes.

Running 26.2 miles through the five boroughs of New York City will be her chance to take control and “challenge my body and mind in a way I’ve never challenged before” while “celebrating what my body can do.”

“With every kilometer I just want to acknowledge and celebrate where I am,” she says. “And it’s the culmination of a lot of hard work on my part, on my doctor’s side and on my community’s side to lift me up.”

“At the starting line I will be at the center of this joyful place,” says Christine. “Because two years ago Google was telling me that maybe I wouldn’t be on this planet now. But not only am I here on this planet, I’m also running a marathon. And I plan to be on this planet for a long time. So when things get tough, it’s a reminder that I’ve been through tough stuff and that I can keep pushing through this tough stuff. This is a victory lap.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education