In December, 2007, Pete Van Hamersveld was told on his 50th birthday that he had colon cancer. It had been discovered during a yearly routine colonoscopy, and the resulting surgery revealed that the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes. Van Hamersveld had the most advanced form of colon cancer, Stage 3C. That was in January 2008, and following more than a year’s worth of chemotherapy, radiation, and a second surgery, he decided to take on a regimen of physical conditioning that included running—thus entering a race to save his life literally and figuratively.