After Christine Fischer watched her husband, pro runner Reed Fischer, race in many marathons over the years, she is ready to tackle the TCS New York City Marathon this weekend in the midst of battling stage 4 breast cancer.
“No knock on Reed, but his races never really inspired me to run the marathon,” Christine, 30, told People in an interview published on Friday, November 1, noting it was the other runners of slower speeds who got her to sign up for the race. “It was so inspiring to watch them come through [the finish line]. That’s really what sparked my interest in running a marathon. And I was like, ‘You know what? Maybe I do want to run!’”
Christine and Reed, 29, have been married since October 2021 after partially bonding over running passions. Two years later, elementary school teacher Christine was diagnosed with stage 4 oligometastatic breast cancer.
“A little over a month ago, Christine was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a diagnosis that, despite months of mental steeling, still felt like a gut punch,” Reed wrote via Instagram in February 2023. “Christine is objectively the best person I know. She devotes herself to the betterment of those around her. She shows endless and unconditional love to her family and friends. She works tirelessly to ensure that her students receive a quality Education and know her love.”
He added, “There are a lot of things in this world that don’t seem ‘fair,’ but this diagnosis is certainly on the top of my list. It’s hard to describe the helplessness, frustration, and anxiety that accompany watching someone so undeserving go through so much. But, per usual, Christine has been the first to laugh and smile amidst the negative emotions.”
Later that month, Christine started a course of chemotherapy, which she finished in May 2023. Afterward, Christine started training again and completed her first half-marathon since the treatment in August 2023.
Christine will run Sunday’s 26.2-mile course throughout the New York City boroughs alongside other educators as part of Team TCS Teachers.
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Reed, for his part, last ran the Chicago Marathon in October, finishing with a new personal best time of 2:10:14. Amid his athletic achievements, he’s Christine’s No. 1 cheerleader.
“It’s Christine Fischer Day! Happy 30th to the unparalleled woman I get to spend each day beside. A woman who is uncommonly kind, immensely selfless, and immeasurably resilient,” he wrote via Instagram in March. “A woman who unabashedly sings 90% of the correct lyrics to a song with 100% confidence. A woman who pulls the right people into her life with her character, and somehow manages to make them even better through her love. A woman who approaches every aspect of her life with determination and intention.”
