For two years, I haven’t been able to do something I love. A long-term injury left me with an indefinite bar from running.

While I realize that a cancer diagnosis is far more shocking, terrifying, and severe than being benched from a sport, I do know the feeling of something you love being taken from you by circumstances outside of your control. Cancer patients and people with other physical or mental illnesses often deal with this feeling of loss.

With running, I started a social media account to facilitate conversation between runners experiencing similar struggles. I reached over 150 people and created a platform for people to share their own stories and encourage others. I joined Texas 4000 for Cancer to touch people’s lives in the same way. I don’t want anyone to feel like they will never get better or lose the motivation to work towards recovery. The Texas 4000 message of hope resonates with me, and I ride to spread that hope to patients of cancer and other illnesses.

Another major reason I ride is my former math teacher. She battled breast cancer a few years before teaching my class, and the way she nurtured, encouraged, and loved all her students is inspiring. If it weren’t for her, I am not sure I would still be trying to pursue a math degree.

Finally, I ride because of my dad, who I look up to in everything, and who introduced me to road biking. Riding the MS150 with him from Houston to Austin constitutes some of my most cherished memories. From these experiences, I learned how much awareness and attention can be brought to a cause by taking on a challenge like cycling from Houston to Austin, or from Austin to Alaska.

As such, I ride for the knowledge that will one day make a cancer diagnosis a manageable thing, and the knowledge that will allow people to prevent certain cancers. I ride to assist other cancer-fighting organizations in their work. I ride for anyone who has lost something or someone they loved because of cancer or any other illness. I ride for my math teacher. I ride for my teammates and everyone they ride for as well.

To Alaska and back,
Divya