Tonia Smith on Cancer, Survival, and Running Through It All

When Tonia Smith finished her first 100 miler in 2013, she was elated. When she won a 100k ultra marathon later that year, she was having arguably the best year of running in her life.

Tonia Smith, at her 100 Miler

And then she learned that she had pancreatic cancer a few weeks later.

While she could have crumbled after being blindsided by this diagnosis, she did what any good ultra marathoner would do, she simply just kept going. During her treatments, she stayed as active as possible and set a goal of running a 50 miler less than a year after her cancer diagnosis, and she did.

Tonia Smith, Mid-Race Post Cancer

I had a great chat with Tonia today, and I know you are going to enjoy listening in on our conversation. Here are some of the highlights:

• Signing up for a marathon before running any other race
• Getting into ultramarathons
• Being completely blindsided by a pancreatic cancer diagnosis
• The roll running played during her cancer treatments
• The strength of the running community to support each other in times of need
• Being a part of Project Purple
• Lessons learned from running ultras that translate into real life

There are a number of ways that you can connect with Tonia.

Visit her personal blog

Follow her blog with Project Purple

Connect with her on Facebook

Follow her on Twitter

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