From Hobby to Healing: Helping Survivors in the Long Run

Before 2020, Nicole Kolenda knew exactly who she was: a mother of two young children, a wife, a speech-language pathologist, and an avid runner.

Suddenly, at age 44, that description expanded to include “cancer patient.” 

Nicole was diagnosed Stage I breast cancer: invasive ductal carcinoma with DCIS. Amid the dizzying rush of scans and consultations, she was suddenly expected to navigate the reality of being a person with cancer while remaining anchored as a mother, partner, and clinician.

Faced with a slew of appointments and an overwhelming amount of confusing medical information, Nicole turned to the one practice that had always grounded her: running.

Why Movement Matters 

Physical activity is important during and after cancer treatment. Not only can it improve one’s quality of life by reducing fatigue and making side effects less intense, it decreases risk of cancer recurrence and mortality (NIH). 

Throughout treatment, running was a lifeline for Nicole. “Running gave me somewhere to place the fear and uncertainty,” she reflected. “It reminded me that my body was still capable and that I could continue to move forward, even when I could not see very far ahead.” Yet Nicole is candid about resisting the pressure to perform relentless positivity, especially on days when you only feel strong enough to walk to the mailbox and back.

“[Running] carried me through treatment and helped me feel connected to my body at a time when that relationship had become complicated,” she said. “But my understanding of strength has expanded. Strength is not always pushing harder or crossing a finish line. Sometimes it is slowing down, asking for help, advocating for appropriate care, or accepting that the way forward may look different than you imagined.” 

Passionate about helping others find that strength, Nicole turned to Livestrong with a bold idea. 

Passing the Baton to Other Survivors 

Rather than keeping her hard-won insight to herself, Nicole channeled her passion for running and survivorship into action. When she met Livestrong’s leadership and shared her vision of building an initiative to help cancer survivors discover the healing power of running, the alignment was immediate. Soon after, Cancer to Crushing It was born. 

Cancer to Crushing It is a six-week virtual run training program designed for people who did not exercise regularly before and/or during treatment to regain strength and improve mobility after cancer. Weekly runs steadily increase in length and intensity, and at the end of the program, participants run a full 5K.  

Your body is different after cancer. Created by Nicole and Livestrong with survivors’ needs in mind, Cancer to Crushing It helps beginner runners reclaim their health one stride at a time, with encouragement she would have liked to hear on her own journey. “I wish I had understood that survivorship would not begin neatly when treatment ended,” she said. “The physical and emotional effects of cancer can continue long afterward, and new challenges may emerge over time. Reaching the end of active treatment is an important milestone, but it does not necessarily mean that you immediately feel like yourself again or that you return to the person you were before.” 

Nicole’s mantra in both running and in life is “You can do this,” and that sentiment is clear in the positive and reassuring tone of the Cancer to Crushing It curriculum. The buildup to a 5K run is gradual, starting with plenty of walking and breaks.  

On difficult runs, Nicole challenges patients and survivors to fundamentally rethink what it means to be resilient, which includes accepting that their bodies may not be able to move the way they once were, and that’s okay. “…there is no true return to ‘before,'” she says. We are changed by what we experience. Resilience is learning how to live responsively within that change—remaining open, adapting, and continuing to move forward without denying what has happened.” 

The Finish Line is Just the Beginning 

The next Cancer to Crushing It cohort begins October 11, 2026. It culminates in late November, just in time for participants to crush their local Turkey Trot. Runners will cross a physical finish line, but the hope is that the program kickstarts a new beginning: a focus on movement as medicine without pressure to feel 100% every single day.  

Survivorship can feel like an uncharted journey, but through Cancer to Crushing It, Nicole inspires herself and others to Livestrong. “My progress is not measured by feeling good every day or by leaving cancer completely behind,” she said. “I am not trying to return to the person I was before cancer. I am learning to trust and care for the person I am becoming.”