The Queen

As Erin Gratsch made her way down the chute, her smile grew. Her arms, outstretched, like she was giving everyone at the Cincinnati finish line one big hug.

That smile was one of amazement. The kind that says, “Wow, I can’t believe I really did that.” And in a way, Erin really couldn’t believe it. But everyone around her never had a doubt.

"Wow, I can't believe I really did that"

Erin entered the Queen Bee Half Marathon as a participant, after years of pacing other runners in the same race. It was supposed to be a worry-free run. The kind where you just go out and have fun, with no concern about personal bests or mile splits. But there was something hanging over Erin in that race.

Just a week before, Erin had undergone chemo. The grueling treatment is something she’s all too familiar with. She’s been down this road before.

Erin started running marathons more than 20 years ago, inspired by Oprah Winfrey. She figured if Oprah could run 26.2 miles, she could too.

Her running journey took her to Boston, nine times. She was even there the year the bombs exploded along the route. She had finished just 18 minutes before the blast. It was just a few months after that, her world was rocked again.

Erin was out shopping when she noticed a mobile mammography van. She was overdue for her annual mammogram, so she stopped in. That mammogram found a lump. At age 45 and in the best shape of her life, with no history of breast cancer, Erin was now in the fight of her life.

She endured seven surgeries and even had her breast removed. Two weeks after one of her surgeries, she walked the Queen Bee Half Marathon with her friend Kelly. The same friend who was by her side again this year.

The diagnosis didn’t stop Erin. In fact, it lit a fire. She ran even more marathons, but more importantly, she became an advocate, encouraging women to get their mammograms. She even organizes the mobile mammography van that visits women where they’re at: work, grocery stores, community and shopping centers.

In June of last year, Erin celebrated six years being cancer-free. A month later, she got her second diagnosis. Breast cancer. Again.

After six rounds of intensive chemo, Erin says the tumor is gone. She still has an uphill climb to the next Queen Bee. She’ll undergo less intensive chemo and immunotherapy until September. Surgery and radiation will follow, but Erin is confident she can at least walk this year’s Queen Bee.

“Cancer takes away so many things, Erin said, “but I am not about to let cancer control every aspect of my life.”

"Cancer takes away so many things, but I am not about to let cancer control every aspect of my life."

She’s determined to finish the race and inspire others in the process. And her fellow runners and biggest supporters will be there too.

They have to be, to return that big ol’ Queen Bee hug.