04/07/2024
Graduate distance runner Brigid Hanley’s journey as an athlete has been an unrelenting test of resilience.
Hanley began her athletic journey in her freshman year of high school at La Salle Catholic College Preparatory (Ore.), where she joined the cross country team as a freshman. She was not planning to run during the track and field season until her coach told her that school rules stated she had to compete in both sports. Hanley said she enjoyed the additional season anyway because of her love for running.
“It’s really social honestly,” Hanley said. “You get to be outside every day … and you get a lot of time to talk with your friends and hang out with them.”
Early in her college career, Hanley was focused on learning in the classroom and getting faster on the track. However, her path to the finish line took an unexpected turn when she was diagnosed with cancer.
Hanley had to take multiple seasons off from competing to battle the illness, causing her to miss all her outdoor track seasons at Arizona, but she still ran when she could during her time in treatment. She said running helped her get through hard days of doctor’s appointments and treatment sessions.
“When you have any type of chronic illness, but especially cancer, you become a patient and not a person,” Hanley said. “Your life is full of doctor’s appointments. It revolves around your illness, people treat you like you’re your illness, they don’t treat you like a person. So I think for me too, running was a way to kind of keep my identity.”
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Story by Misha Gupta. Photo courtesy of Brigid Hanley.