Cancer survivor to run famed marathon
Welland’s Bradnam selected to be part of Team TCS Teachers
A teacher from Welland has been selected to run the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon after defeating cancer, twice.
Jonathan Bradnam remembers seeing a poster in August 2018 for the Run for the Grapes five-kilometre race, part of the Niagara Running Series. He was looking for a way to get back into physical shape after two very difficult years. He thought a five-kilometre race would be a good goal to work toward.
In June 2016, Bradnam had been diagnosed with testicular cancer.
He had gone into the Niagara Falls hospital one day with pain and discomfort. That same day, Bradnam found out he had cancer and was rushed into emergency surgery.
After two months of treatment and 21 rounds of chemotherapy at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Bradnam was deemed cancer free.
He said his parents, Alex and Alice, his wife, Michelle, and his Christian faith are what got him through the aggressive treatment, as well as the experienced medical staff at Princess Margaret.
His father, who is also a cancer survivor, stayed with Bradnam in a hotel throughout his rounds of chemotherapy.
Michelle took care of their two young children while Bradnam was away.
“My family, both my wife, my dad and my mom, were a huge support,” Bradnam said.
After beating testicular cancer, Bradnam continued to raise his two children, as well as teach English as a second language, which he has been doing for the past six years.
In 2018, however, at one of his routine checkups in Toronto, Bradnam received upsetting news.
He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer entirely unrelated to his previous bout of cancer two years earlier.
Bradnam had his thyroid removed in June 2018 and underwent radioactive iodine treatment two months later. He has been cancer free since.
After going through years of treatment, Bradnam simply wanted to get back to being healthy and active. He began running consistently, with a goal of breaking 20 minutes over five kilometres.
What originally started as a way to get back into shape has become a competitive hobby for Bradnam.
He dedicated himself to training, with the help of the Morning Star Runners, a running group in Niagara.
“In 2018 and 2019, I did the shorter races. Then after 2019 I had some encouragement from friends, so I started doing some longer stuff and I’m up to the marathon distance now,” Bradnam said.
In 2020, he was selected by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to run the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon.
TCS is the primary sponsor of the race, and each year selects 50 teachers from the U.S. and Canada to be a part of Team TCS Teachers.
The 2020 TCS New York City Marathon was cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19. However, Bradnam will still get to race this year.
“TCS has been great, they let us carry over free entry for another year, which was awesome,” he said.
This year will be the 50th annual New York City Marathon. The race is scheduled for Nov. 7.
Bradnam will join five other Canadians as part of Team TCS Teachers, as well as race alongside more than 33,000 runners. He is excited to run in such a big event and he hopes to complete the marathon in less than two hours and 40 minutes, which he has done before.
Bradnam hopes to participate in a couple of other major marathons, but he also recognizes how time-consuming the training is.
“Eventually, I think time is going to catch up to me a bit and I’ll have to start making more time for my career and for my family,” he said.
This fall, he will begin a new position teaching Grade 3 at Oakridge Public School in St. Catharines.
He is also very involved in his own children’s’ athletic endeavours. His daughter is a gymnast and his son is a soccer player.
“Being involved in everything takes a lot of time. The running thing, it’s fantastic and I love it, but, in a couple of years, I might just do it more recreationally and socially, that kind of thing,” Bradnam said.