Reston Native and Lymphoma Survivor to Ride for a Cure

Spirited.

Athletic.

A proud Restonian.

Most people who know Tim Cohn would agree all three descriptions fit the man perfectly.

And for more than a year now, they’ve added cancer survivor to that list.

Cohn, a former college runner and longtime member of the Reston Runners, was training for the 2014 Boston Marathon when he felt physically unable to continue a 25-mile run at just the 19-mile mark.

To most, running 19 miles seems like a super-heroic feat. But considering Cohn has completed more than 40 marathons and ultramarathons, and has even run a 100-mile race in his career, failing to complete 20 miles was cause for concern.

Cohn visited his doctor thinking his unusual fatigue was the result of lyme disease, which Cohn endured a few years earlier and assumed had returned. Instead he was referred to an oncologist who passed along the devastating news: Cohn had cancer.

To be more specific, he was diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) a form of cancer that affects the blood. Understandably, Cohn was stunned by the news.

“It’s a real shock. Cancer is scary,” Cohn said. “Running was the last thing on my mind. I thought ‘How long do I have to live? Can I live a reasonable life?’”

Thanks to modern medicine, MCL is now a very treatable disease. Cohn has been taking pharmaceuticals since his diagnosis, and it wasn’t long before he was able to return to his old self.

He’s returned to work full time, and is even running again, having completed multiple half-marathons this year alone. Gaining back the ability to run was a special moment in Cohn’s ongoing treatment, he recalled.

“It was wonderful. I was really missing going out for a run. I was having trouble climbing one flight of stairs. Getting everything back was wonderful,” he said. “It felt like that’s what I should be doing. ... Running is a part of who I am.”

With restored energy, Cohn will use his passion for physical activity to help find a cure for cancer when he rides in Sunday’s Lymphoma Research Ride in Montgomery County, Md.

The bike-riding event benefits the Lymphoma Research Foundation, which will in turn provide funding for the kind of research that saved Cohn’s life last year.

“Twenty years ago I would not have survived a year with the cancer I have,” Cohn admitted. “New pharmaceuticals have been developed, all from research that’s funded by events like (the Lymphoma Research Ride), and have really changed landscape for survivors. Many live decades that otherwise might not have made it a year.”

Last year Cohn said he rode a shorter course because he was not far removed from returning to physical activity after his diagnosis. This year he said he’ll ride a longer course, calling the event “a wonderful celebration of life.”

This year’s ride has already raised more than $384,000 as of Monday morning.

To donate to the Lymphoma Research Foundation, click here.

Cohn is riding for more than just himself. He said it wasn’t until after a friend announced his cancer to the community that he learned of numerous friends and neighbors also affected by the disease, and he realized just how widespread cancer is in every community.

“Cancer really affects every family in some way,” Cohn noted, discussing his motivations to ride in the race.

He’s currently trying to line up a stem cell transplant, which would serve as a permanent cure for his lymphoma, but he hasn’t stopped living in the meantime.

He’s made his own return to normalcy, and this Sunday will ride to help others like him do the same.

Image credit: Lymphoma Research Ride