One of my heroes died this week.
I never met her. I didn’t even know that much about her. And yet her legacy had a tremendous impact on me.
Her name was Gabe. She was a 32 year old American middle distance runner. She was a wife, a daughter, a sister and an inspiration to millions. When I first started training for my half marathon, I began reading multiple runners world articles and researching the routines and lifestyles of professional marathoners. It was during that time that I stumbled upon Garbiele Grunewald.
Among the literal thousands of instagram pages and blogs and websites of professional athletes, something set this woman apart; a huge crimson hookshaped scar that stretched across her abdomen. And yet not only her scar, but her smile- a genuine smile that spoke of hope and perseverance.
Something was different about her.
Gabe grew up in tiny Perham, Minnesota, northwest of Minneapolis. Running was her joy and her freedom, even as temperatures dropped to 10 below and ice formed on her eyelashes and lips. She made the University of Minnesota track team as a walk-on and slowly got better and better.
At the age of 22 she transformed herself into an N.C.A.A. all-American athlete in the 1,500 meters during her last collegiate race in 2009. However, literally the day before, she was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma; a rare cancer of the salivary gland. Despite the tragic news, she ran anyway, and logged what was then her fastest time.
Just months later she underwent surgery to remove her salivary gland and begin radiation. The surgery damaged her facial nerve and changed her smile and the radiation that followed left her with a permanent bald spot on the back of her head. She wasn’t in remission, and her body was weak. But she kept running.
In 2010 she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which would require another surgery and even more radiation. Yet also in 2010 she finished runner-up in the 1500m at the 2010 NCAA Track & Field Championships and signed on as a pro with Brooks.
Gabe loved to run.
And despite her growing cancer, and many interruptions to her training because of aggressive treatments with chemotherapy and operations, she continued to run.
She married Justin Grunewald, a fellow runner, in 2013, despite the unknown future and undetermined amount of time they would have together. They ran side by side every day that they could, and never took a moment for granted.
For a while, the future was bright….Gabe was progressing as a professional athlete and the radiation was working
But then one day after a race in 2014, Justin was giving her a hug and noticed a lump. The cancer had moved to her liver.
Surgery followed; and that’s when she acquired her scar.
And interestingly, that’s when the world began noticing her. Not necessarily for her PR’s or her medals or accomplishments, but for her perseverance. It would have been completely understandable if she had decided to stop running, or at least stop running professionally. But she didn’t. She pressed on.
Grunewald credited running for giving her mental boosts, goals and “purpose in my life in the face of an uncertain future.”
She was fully aware that as the cancer kept returning, she had a lower and lower chance of beating it, but that only pushed her further to keep running and to embrace the remainder of her life with relentless determination and courage.
“Being brave, for me, means not giving up on the things that make me feel alive.” She said once, which coined the Brooks movement “Brave like Gabe”, inspiring hundreds towards resilient perseverance in athletics, personal growth, sickness and life in general.
In 2018, she began the Brave like Gabe foundation in order to raise awareness for rare diseases like her own, fund research, and inspire and empower fellow cancer patients. The website speaks volumes of this woman’s fierce spirit in the face of great hardship.
The 2017 USATF Outdoor Championship 1500m final was Grunewald’s last professional race. The recurrence of cancer in her liver required further immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and clinical trials that prevented her from competing in 2018 and 2019.
But that didn’t stop Gabe from fighting and hoping. During that time she invested heavily in her foundation, visited other cancer patients, and even trained Chip Gaines from the HGTV show Fixer Upper to run his first marathon.
I loved reading her instagram posts because of their optimism and hope. I loved watching her and her husbands relationship, because of their deep love and commitment to each other and the way they treasured every day, every run, every moment together.
I honestly didn’t even know how grave Gabe’s situation was because of her constant positivity. To her death, she was still dreaming of running in the 2020 Olympics and used her large following to focus on raising money for the thousands of other people battling cancer instead of drawing attention to her own situation.
On Sunday, June 2, Justin had to tell his wife that she was dying, to which she took a deep breath and whispered, “Not today.” Five days later, however, as she became weaker and weaker, Gabe, beaten down from a decade of fighting an incurable disease, looked her husband in the eyes and said “I’m ready to go to heaven.”
Gabe and her husband, though quiet about their faith, shared near the end of her life that they had no reason to fear the road ahead, because they had hope she was going to a better place.
Gabe passed away on June 11th. In a heartfelt post, her husband shared that “At 7:52 I said “I can’t wait until I get to see you again” to my hero, my best friend, my inspiration, my wife… Gabe, I always felt like the Robin to your batman and I know I will never be able to fill this gaping hole in my heart or fill the shoes you have left behind.”
When I read that post, I felt like I had lost a friend. This woman was my inspiration for those mornings when my side hurt or my knees ached or I just wanted to sleep in instead of lace up my running shoes and hit the road. Not only did she inspire me to run however, she inspired me to look in the face of the great monsters in life, such as cancer, and just keep running. Keep fighting. Keep hoping.
My Aunt Denise passed away from cancer two years ago, with the same audacious grit and determination that Gabriele Grunewald had. For that reason, Gabe’s life and legacy moves me even deeper, because I know from experience the pain and suffering she underwent.
Both of these women inspired me to embrace every moment, and to face challenges and adversity with hope and courage, just like they faced the gruesome realities of cancer with grace and gratefulness.
Both of these women were women of strong faith and resilience.
And both of these women are already sorely missed.
In 2016, Gabriele Ivy Grunewald penned these words,
“And so I will walk, perhaps one day run,
down this road that is bumpy
sometimes not even fun
Because there is a place
that I’d like to be-
where dreams come alive
And I will feel fee.
I choose to be brave,
as I hold hands with fear,
not knowing the outcome
letting God steer.
This is my calling,
this is the way,
it is life that I’m seeking
and it starts today.”
To Gabe; thank you. Thank you for remaining strong to the very end, and for running with endurance the race set before you, despite its difficulty. Thank you for inspiring me, and so many others.
I look forward to running with you in heaven and until then,
I’ll run in your memory down here.
For Gabe, 6/25/86-6/11/19.
