In early 2023, my mom, Carol M. Byrne (CMB—just like the Research Fund’s namesake), was diagnosed with HR+/HER2- breast cancer. After a period of remission, we learned in February 2026 that her cancer had returned. The days between initial detection and diagnosis felt endless but once we had answers and a treatment plan, uncertainty gave way to purpose.
My mom has faced each diagnosis the same way she’s faced every challenge I’ve ever watched her overcome: with extraordinary bravery, optimism, and persistence. She reminds our family every day that while we can’t control everything, we can choose our perspective. In doing so, we’ve reclaimed a sense of hope. And through that hope: resilience.
My CMB is resilience in action. Every morning at 5:30 a.m., she starts her day with yoga, a smoothie, and 10 squats. She works a full day, comes home, and ends it with a walk alongside my dad. Even during treatment weeks. Even when she’s exhausted. And somehow, she still resolves to make each day better than the last.
I’m blessed to be a lot like my CMB.
Through every mile between now and November 1st, I’ll be training the way my mom leads her life. To get up when it’s dark. To keep going when it hurts. To take the next step when it would be easier not to. She has shown me that we can’t choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we meet them.
For every woman facing breast cancer, and for every family – their “tribes,” as my mom lovingly calls us – walking beside them. Every day. Every workout. Every mile. For every woman whose dreams have been interrupted and deserve the ability to keep chasing, keep fighting, especially when it gets hard; and to have access to the treatment that keeps those dreams alive.