Great Strides
Running Through Cancer
“I wasn’t going to sit around while I underwent chemotherapy. I wanted to sweat all the chemicals out my body.”
One of Don White’s annual traditions is partaking in the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend – one of the most popular running events in Canada, attracting more than 40,000 participants every year, and one which features the country’s largest marathon.
In the fall of 2014, White was diagnosed with leukemia – a cancer that starts in blood stem cells – putting his plans to run the event in 2015 up in the air.
White has led a healthy and fit lifestyle, a runner on and off for much of his adult life, and a consistent one since his early 40s. On many days, the 62-year-old would run at lunchtime because of its positive effect, citing that a mid-day runs always made him feel better.
During his annual physical exam in 2014, doctors noticed a higher-than-normal white blood cell count, an increase in disease-fighting blood cells. From there, White was sent to a team of hematologists – physicians who specialize in diseases related to blood – and oncologists – physicians who specialize in the prevention and treatment of cancer – at the Ottawa General Hospital.
After being diagnosed with leukemia, White went through six rounds of chemotherapy, a category of cancer treatment that uses chemical substances, in as many months.
“I wasn’t going to sit around while I underwent chemotherapy,” said White. “I wanted to sweat all the chemicals out of my body.”
When White got the brochure of how to cope with chemotherapy, he figured there was no way he would be able to follow certain suggested guidelines. He continued running throughout the process, with chemotherapy sessions the first few days of the week before finishing the latter portion of the week with some running despite cancer-related fatigue.
“I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to run again,” said White. “Going through treatment made me more motivated to get out there and run. Running was something I always looked forward to.”
White went through a six-month stretch from Oct. 2014 to the end of March the following year, using running to get through his rounds of chemotherapy. Dating back to 2004, Don had competed at all but two Ottawa Race Weekend events, missing only 2010 and 2011, before being diagnosed with leukemia. The Ottawa Marathon on May 24, 2015 was only six weeks after the end of his treatment.
White finished in 4:00:35, on the 10-year anniversary of his first attempt at the 42.2k distance. Although he has been a runner for much of his life, he only got into racing when he was challenged by a friend to attempt a half-marathon.
Earlier in his running career, White ran the historic Boston Marathon in 2010 at 56, known to many runners as the pinnacle of marathon racing and considered one of the best-known running events in the world, finishing in 4:04:36.
White had qualified the year prior in his hometown race, completing the run in a lifetime best of 3:40:41 and qualified for Boston in the 55–59 category (the standard for Boston was 3:45:00 between 2003 and 2012).
“In my fourth marathon, I managed to qualify for Boston,” explained White. “In hindsight, I ran that race perfectly in my mind: I negative split the marathon using training plans and nutrition tips I found through reading magazines.”
White also had the opportunity to run the 2012 New York City Marathon but had to forego the race because hurricane Sandy forced the cancellation of the event.
He added that the one aspect of running he appreciates the most is a runner’s determination. “The ones at the back of the pack,” White explained, “are trying to accomplish certain goals and milestones just like the elites leading the race.”
For now, White is looking to continue the tradition of running the Ottawa Marathon race weekend in 2016 and beyond.– TH