“If cancer wants to get me, it’s gotta catch me first!”
That is Greg Schnoor’s mantra…
In 2010 when Greg and his wife were the most complete, newborn baby girl to add to their family of three boys, Greg was diagnosed with a 2 inch brain tumor and had to have brain surgery to remove it. Shortly after the surgery, he was diagnosed with a rare type of brain tumor called Oligodendroglioma, thus changing the course of his life.
He started cancer treatments for the grade 3 malignant tumor with six weeks of radiation combined with taking chemo EVERY day. Up until March 2015, he continued to take chemo five days almost every month, have MRIs to check for updates, lab work every month and check-ups with his oncologist and neurosurgeon.
Greg had lost weight due to radiation and chemo but after the radiation treatmet his sense of smell and taste came back and he gained the weight and then some.
When he saw THIS picture, he decided he needed to make some changes in his life in order to provide the best outcome in his life.
“To cope with the changes in life, I turned focus on getting healthier and have found running to be great physical and mental medication. Even while taking chemo for one week almost every month, I started walking, then built myself up to running 5ks without walking, and then on to training for marathons and ultra marathons. Ever since I made the change to start running, I have felt healthier than I ever have. I hope to share with others that just because you get a life threatening illness or any other negative issues going on in your life, it does not mean you should let it control your life. In fact, it has been a blessing and is driving me to make and reach my goals in life.”
Running Wild has contributed to Greg’s physical goals by providing great advice, free clinics, routes with water stops, great events, advice for injury and injury prevention, running groups and friendly staff. On another level, Paul and the event coordiating team has helped Greg with the Brain Tumor Run for Research 5k. Greg started this as a fundraiser over 2 years ago to raise awareness and has been able to raise over $30,000 for critically needed funding for brain tumor research. Running Wild has assisted in many ways including with cones, packet pickup, coordinating, advertising, etc. More information on the Brain Tumor Run HERE!
What are your greatest running accomplishments and why?
- 2014 Pensacola Marathon- finishing time of 3:27
- 2014 Fiesta of Five Flags 5k- finishing time of 19:19
- 2015 Lake Martin 50 Mile Ultra- finished 9th overall.
Top 5 most important products from Running Wild to help you achieve success?
- Running Shoes (either my Topo or Altra for trail running and my Newtons for the road.)
- Nuun
- Endurolytes
- Body Glide
- Injinji toe socks!
What’s next? What are your future athletic goals?
I am currently training for a 100 mile run in November (a week after the Pensacola Marathon). Regardless if I can complete it or not, I plan on finding some ultra marathons that have some great scenic views and running them. I love being able to see nature at it’s finest, taking pictures of it and building up memories, all while being able to get my run on. Of course, I’ll be running around much of Northwest Florida to get my training done! Once I turn 40 (38 right now) I plan on turning back my focus to improving my marathon pace in effort to make Boston.
50-Mile Training Run Florida State Line Selfie
These are goals that those who know Greg find that he is an individual that is more than capable of of achieving. He has inspired elite local runners to push through their own physical barriers by being such a positive role model in our community. Running Wild is blessed to have Greg in our circle of run love!
