For every finish-line tape a runner breaks -- complete with the cheers of the crowd and the clicking of hundreds of cameras -- there are the hours of hard and often lonely work that rarely gets talked about.

My goal has always been to introduce other people to running. They might accomplish something they never thought they could.

I am a private person and that has always been my personality.

When I came to New York in 1978, I was a full-time school teacher and track runner, and determined to retire from competitive running. But winning the New York City Marathon kept me running for another decade.

I am living in Norway, where I am under the care of the best cancer doctor in Norway and I can be closer to my family.

One day you are happy and laughing and the next you are crying.

In terms of fitness and battling through cancer, exercise helps you stay strong physically and mentally.