Cancer survivor lacing up for first Manitoba Marathon

CTV's Daniel Halmarson shares the story of Annick Rauch, a cancer survivor who will be running in the Manitoba Marathon on June 21.

A Winnipeg woman is getting ready to run her first full Manitoba Marathon on Sunday just 14 months after being diagnosed with cancer.

“Everybody thinks it’s about crossing that finish line… For me, it’s the start line and just getting to be here,” Annick Rauch told CTV News Tuesday. “Every single step that I take is a blessing.”

Running has been a part of Rauch’s routine for years, but the pastime became a lifeline after a breast cancer diagnosis in April 2025.

“It was devasting, overwhelming, all of the things at once,” Rauch told CTV News Tuesday. “Your life kind of changes in a blink of an eye.”

In the following months, the teacher and mother of four endured a barrage of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment.

“The hardest part is not knowing what your future is going to look like,” Rauch said. “You can’t even deal with the emotional toll until the physical stuff is over.”

Rauch said lacing up her shoes and hitting the pavement helped her battle through those treatments, and when her cancer went into remission earlier this year, she set her sights on something worth celebrating – running a full marathon.

“It’s something I’ve never done before. It sounds surreal,” she said. “It’s always been a goal that’s been in the back of my mind, and here we are. Hopefully, I can accomplish it.”

Rauch has run in other races, including a half-marathon in Hawaii earlier this year, but she’s never tackled a 42.2 km trek.

She admitted she’s a little bit nervous about Sunday’s race but said she’s ready for the challenge.

“My mentality was, I can go through chemo, I can get through chemo, and if I can do this, then I can run a marathon,” Rauch said.

She’ll be wearing a custom-made shirt emblazoned with ‘In My Comeback Season: Running Toward Life’ on the front and her cancer journey outlined on the back. She hopes it serves as an inspiration for other cancer survivors.

“You are stronger than you think and you will get through it,” Rauch said. “There can be beautiful things woven into ugly things and this marathon is proof of that.

The Manitoba Marathon kicks off 7 a.m. Sunday at the University of Manitoba.