When cancer shows up, it doesn’t care about your training block. It doesn’t care about race plans, podiums or how good life was feeling just a minute ago. For runners Ali Feller and Sabrina Stanley, cancer didn’t arrive quietly, but they aren’t staying quiet, either. They’ve been sharing what it’s really like to face it head-on, in real time, with the same kind of honesty, vulnerability and toughness that made people cheer for them long before this.
Ali Feller: sharing with grace and grit
New Hampshire’s Ali Feller—a marathon runner, podcast host (Ali on the Run Show) and mother—recently revealed that her breast cancer has returned as stage 4 and spread to her bones. She described it as “intense, debilitating, at times immobilizing pain,” first appearing during high-energy events like the Boston and London marathons. “It was mild at first. It was there in Boston. It was bad by London…” Feller felt the illness through her birthday celebrations, which were attended by her surgeon. “By 8 AM that Monday morning, her office was calling to start scheduling appointments for me,” she wrote on Instagram.
She candidly shared the emotional roller-coaster: “I am overwhelmed. I am up to my eyeballs in cancer admin. I am sad. I am scared. I am as delusionally optimistic as ever. I am angry.” Now with another bout of chemotherapy that began on June 10, Feller remains determined to fight and continue sharing her journey with the running community. “I am convinced I’ll be an exception and not a statistic,” she wrote.
Sabrina Stanley: early detection and strength in numbers
Ultra-athlete Sabrina Stanley, a two-time Hardrock 100 champion who took seventh at last year’s UTMB series finale, recently posted that a mass on her left ovary led to surgery and a shocking diagnosis. She wrote: “It wasn’t okay at first… Through sniffles, I repeated, ‘It’ll be okay,’ a dozen times to each person… I allowed myself one session of uncontrollable grief on the kitchen floor. Just one.”
Her biopsy results brought relief: “You won the cancer lottery… If you’re going to have cancer this is the kind you want.” Dr. James told her ovarian cancer had been caught very early, avoiding chemo for now, but confirming the need for further surgery—a hysterectomy. Stanley continues weekly blood tests and shared her gratitude: “The prospect of a summer full of miles, has never brought me the level of delight I’m feeling today.” Stanley’s early detection story serves as a powerful reminder for routine checkups and the value of early screening.
A message of resilience
Both women have created spaces where real, unfiltered stories and hard conversations can happen. Feller says she is now focused on navigating treatment and showing up for her six-year-old daughter. She reminds runners: “The way to get through that is to get through it.” Stanley, meanwhile, is channeling her gratitude and energy into a joyful return to summer run training, supported by the people who never left her side.
