By Becky Hoag
Gabriele Grunewald was the last runner from the Prefontaine Classic national women’s 1,500-meter race to enter the Hayward Field interview area Friday night, and even though she placed second-to-last in 4 minutes, 15.04 seconds, reporters crowded around her.
Grunewald, who has a rare form of cancer, is postponing chemotherapy treatments to finish her running career on a high note. She has one more race to go and she hopes that she will be able to get the time that qualifies for the U.S. championships this summer.
“If it does and if I feel well enough, I am planning on going there and at least run the first round and see what happens,” said Grunewald, who runs for Brooks. “That’s kind of my plan to end my competitive racing there.”
Grunewald’s cancer, a rare form of malignant neoplasm called adenoid cystic carcinoma, was detected in 2012. Most doctors haven’t even heard of this form of cancer. One of the reasons why it is so rare is because it has many similarities to benign tumors, which can catch doctors off guard.
The cancer started in her salivary glands but unexpectedly moved to her liver last year, shocking all her doctors. Her form of adenoid cystic carcinoma is difficult to track, spreading along the nerves or through the bloodstream.
“She got a rare disease and then she got a rarer variant of that disease,” her husband, Michael Grunewald, said.
It has been a difficult 12 months for Gabriele. Michael hugged her one evening last August and noticed a bump that didn’t seem right. She had a 5-by-6-inch cancerous tumor removed, leaving her with a 13-inch scar across her torso. The cancer then came back in March.
“It has been a tough journey,” Gabriele said. “It has been a life I didn’t expect. I don’t think anyone has expected to be a 30-year-old, four-time cancer survivor or be a professional athlete. You feel like you’re one of the healthiest people in the world and you’re out there doing your workouts every day, and a serious illness is the last thing on your mind.”
Gabriele’s scar hasn’t stopped her from wearing a crop top during the race, though.
“Someone messaged me that she hasn’t run in shorts for five years because she has scars from surgery, and she saw me running and racing, showing my scar,” Gabriele said. “And she messaged me saying, ‘You know what, you have inspired me to run with shorts on today.’”
Only one of her doctors really knows much about Gabriele being professional athlete on top of that. Gabriele said that they do consider her to be a bit of a strange patient because not too many patients want to see how far they can push their body, even during chemo.
Michael has been a huge support for Gabriele over the years, going to as many races as he can and keeping her upbeat and laughing. Both collegiate runners, they met in freshman year at the University of Minnesota. While she initially seemed a bit “stand-off-ish,” Michael found that she was one of the toughest women he’s ever met.
While they were dating, Gabriele was diagnosed, but this didn’t deter Michael from marrying her. Michael was initially going to propose to Gabriele at Hayward Field the summer of 2012 after one of her races, but the race didn’t go as planned for Gabriele, making the timing not ideal to pop the question. He swiftly hid the ring in his pocket and waited until they were at her parents’ house for July 4 to ask. Michael has never told her this.
Now Michael is finishing up his medical residency before working in hospice, and Gabriele is running as much as she can before getting chemotherapy in a few weeks.
Gabriele hopes to stay as active as she can for as long as she can, though she isn’t sure how she is going to feel once getting into chemotherapy. Stories of success and hope keep her going.
“I love it when people reach out to me because it helps me get out the door every day,” Gabriele said.
Gabriele has already been a role model for others going through cancer and she hopes to continue to be an image of resilience that others can look up to. She plans to get farther into her activism role as she undergoes chemo.
Before her case, there had only been about two or three studies on this form of cancer published. Now, the medical community has published over eight, with one doctor specializing in adenoid cystic carcinoma.
“I wanted there to be this cancer-surviving person that was really kicking ass, but it didn’t exist in a way that I wanted it to,” Gabriele said. “I want to be what I didn’t have, and I hope that there are people that see me and keep getting after it.”
