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am excited to continue on the journey and apply
the wisdom that comes from failure,” she wrote
on Instagram after the 2016 Trials. “Because,
like Thomas Edison, I do indeed believe that
‘many of life’s failures are people who did not
realize how close to success they were when
they gave up.’ So, nope, not giving up. Not yet!”
As it turned out, Grunewald had competed
in the Olympic Trials with a four-pound tumor
in her liver—a recurrence of the ACC and her
third bout of cancer. She had surgery to remove
it, but it came back in March 2017 in the form
of smaller, inoperable tumors on her liver.
While undergoing clinical trials and continu-
ing to compete, Grunewald began to realize that
the more she openly shared her life with cancer,
the more empowered she felt in helping people
in similar circumstances. Her transparency
began to inspire others to pursue their goals
even amid personal struggles. With the help
of her friends, Grunewald started a foundation
called Brave Like Gabe in 2018 to raise funds
and awareness for rare cancer research, as
well as encourage cancer survivors through
physical activity.
Just eight weeks before she died, when her
health was waning, Grunewald still held hope
that an experimental treatment might work and
she could get back to training at a high level.
“I’m still trying to remind myself that the
2020 Olympic Trials are still pretty far away,”
she said. “Who knows what could happen
between now and then? That’s my ultimate
goal. I’d like to think that there’s a chance I
could get back out there.”
It was that relentless hope that spoke to
so many runners in the days leading up to
and following her death. People around the
world continue to use the #BraveLikeGabe and
#RunningOnHope hashtags to document the
many ways her spirit and optimism live on.
Ladia Albertson-Junkans, who was one of
Grunewald’s closest friends, ran the Western
States Endurance Run shortly after Grunewald’s
death. She said Grunewald continued to be
with her through the toughest moments of
her first 100-mile run.
“She wanted everybody to know that you are
enough as you are,” Albertson-Junkans said.
“You don’t have to emulate anybody—find
your own way of being brave and spreading
that hope and positivity into the world. When
you hit a hard moment in a run or a race or in
the middle of your workday, remember that
Gabe found a way to move forward and extend
her hope and gifts to others.”SPECIAL TRIBUTE WARM UPGabriele Grunewald lived in Minneapolis with her
husband, Justin Grunewald, but spent much of
2017 in New York receiving treatment at Memorial
Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She ran in Central
Park nearly every day, but it was one run there
that changed her life—and her death.
An avid HGTV fan, Grunewald saw Chip Gaines,
who starred in the hit show “Fixer Upper” with
his wife Joanna Gaines, sitting on a bench. The
Grunewalds ended up chatting with Gaines about
running; a friendship formed and Grunewald
offered to coach him through his first marathon.
The Gaineses launched the Silo District Mar-
athon in Waco, Texas, and donated $250,
from the race to the Brave Like Gabe Foun-
dation, a huge jumpstart for the nonprofit.
The foundation became a priority to Grunewald
in the final year of her life, when she made sure
it was healthy and sustainable. This year the
organization granted its first round of funds,
which included a $100,000 challenge gift with
Cycle for Survival, to create the Brave Like Gabe
Fund for Rare Cancer Research at Memorial
Sloan Kettering.
The foundation also gave Grunewald opportu-
nities to share her story. “Sometimes I don’t know
how much it means to people, but when I hearthese messages it really encourages me to keep
going,” she said, in April, “especially at a time right
now when I’m not feeling particularly hopeful.”
A few hours before Grunewald died on June 11,
2019, Chip Gaines launched a matching donation
challenge that yielded a $512,000 donation to
Brave Like Gabe—a gift that her family believes
helped put her at ease in her last moments.
That evening, Justin posted that Grunewald
had died at 7:52 p.m., and wrote to his wife that
when Gaines “made the final push in his #Chip-
InChallenge I could feel happiness building and
could also see that this made you ready to head
up to heaven. Chip, thanks for helping her to go
up so peacefully with no suffering.”
Grunewald’s family and friends intend to keep
the foundation going strong, as she intended. “I
know Gabe is smiling down seeing everyone stay-
ing active and donating to rare cancer research,”
Justin wrote on Instagram, gearing up for what
would have been Grunewald’s 33rd birthday.
Grunewald’s sister, Abby Anderson, reflected
on the legacy that day, too. “Even when you
were weary,” she wrote, “you found strength in
the hope and faith you had in making a more
promising tomorrow for not only yourself, but
selflessly everyone else.”Just the Beginning
of a Beautiful,
Brave Legacy