Boston Bound, A Survivor’s Journey
“Last June, I rang the bell cancer-free. This April, I’ll cross another finish line at the Boston Marathon. From barely walking after chemotherapy to running 26.2 miles with Team Teal, every step is for those affected by ovarian cancer and for the power of a community that never stopped believing in me.”
Marathon Highlights
Follow along in the coming weeks as we post highlights from Hollie’s road to Boston.
Hollie Nelsen at SRQ Health Fair representing Team Teal. On April 20, Hollie will run the world’s oldest annual 26.2 mile race as a member of Team Teal.
In preparation for the legendary hills in Boston, Hollie works out at Chicaboom Fitness in Sarasota. “I recently traded the leg work out for the booty work out!”
Track Hollie’s progress throughout the Boston Marathon:
Download the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) ap.
Her bib number is 28775.
From Stage 3 Cancer to Running the Boston Marathon
March 3, 2026
Last June, Hollie Nelsen stood smiling in the FCS Sarasota Downtownclinic as she rang the bell to celebrate completion of treatment for stage 3 ovarian cancer. Now cancer free, the avid long distance runner who “could barely walk down the street after six months of chemotherapy” is logging daily miles towards a different race she’s determined to finish—the Boston Marathon.
Recovering at home, Hollie was anxious to get moving again. She spotted the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition’s Team Tealtent while watching the Boston Marathon and learned the initiative brings endurance athletes together to raise awareness and funds to help prevent and cure ovarian cancer and honor those affected by the disease.
It was the push she needed.
On April 20, Hollie will run the world’s oldest annual 26.2 mile race as a member of Team Teal.
Admittedly treatment impacted her endurance. “It’s been a challenge to catch up,” she says, but she’s powering forward with determination—surrounded by a community that’s showing up for her at every step with open hearts, steady encouragement, and grassroots fundraising.
Hollie has surpassed her fundraising goal of $21,025 (signifying the date of her diagnosis), thanks to events embraced by her wide circle of supporters at Sarasota School of Arts & Sciences where she’s taught for 13 years.
“It’s been quite amazing,” she says. “I would never have imagined how many people would have been involved and been there for me.”
More good news arrived recently during Hollie’s three-month check-in, when FCS medical oncologist Elizabeth Guancial, MDconfirmed that her scans were clear.
The woman who feared she might never run again is well on her way to crushing her comeback race—in the process serving as an inspiration for those affected by ovarian cancer.
“It’s something I’m meant to do,” Hollie says.
Hollie Nelsen: Boston Bound, A Survivor’s Story – Part 2
March 20, 2026
With 30 days to go before she runs the Boston Marathon as a member of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition’s Team Teal, Hollie reports that her training “is going really well.” Out before the sun comes up, she’s logging plenty of miles across the iconic Ringling Bridge and through the Celery Fields – a network of trails that provide access to one of the highest points in Sarasota County. She forgoes a music playlist, preferring instead to silence the world and lose herself in her own thoughts while she runs.
Hollie weaves intervals into her training to give her body time to recover, all while ensuring she maintains her pace during the walks. “I’m focusing on inclines and workouts to strengthen my legs for the hills I’m going to encounter during the 26.2 mile race,” she says.
Often described as the defining test for endurance, the Boston Marathon is famous not just for its history, but for the challenge of its hills. In Newton, runners face a series of four rolling inclines, culminating in the legendary Heartbreak Hill around mile 20. While none of the hills are especially steep, their placement late in the race can drain energy and test even experienced runners.
Elizabeth Guancial, MD, Hollie’s medical oncologist with Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, has seen up close how Hollie tackles challenges with unwavering determination.
“At her first oncology visit we learned that Hollie was a runner and that returning to running was a high priory for her,” Dr. Guancial recalls. “We knew that helping her reach this goal was essential to her maintaining her identity despite her cancer diagnosis.”
A Boston Marathon alum herself, Dr. Guancial understands that running is half physical and half mental. She said, “There were times during her cancer treatment when Hollie needed to be patient because her body wasn’t ready for running. However, once she recovered from surgery and chemo, we gave her the green flag for training and she ran with it! She is an inspiration to everyone on her medical team.”
Hollie delights in those moments during training when she realizes that she is truly back on pace. “Just the other day I had a great run where everything just seemed to be clicking and felt great!”
What keeps her going when training gets tough? Her answer comes instantly: “The six-hour finish time cutoff!” Finishing the race brings Hollie one step closer to earning her Abbott Star, awarded to runners who complete all six World Marathon Majors—she’s already completed the New York City and Chicago marathons.
Hollie continues to turn her life after cancer into an important lesson in both science and resilience, including for her students at Sarasota School of Arts & Sciences.
Her experience has become a teaching moment in her biology classes. “We’ve talked about cancer and how cancer cells work,” she explained.
In fact, the entire school has rallied behind her fundraising efforts, helping her surpass her goal through dress-down days, carnival games and a Cans for Cancer aluminum recycling drive. Support also came from their parents. “My eyes have been opened wider by the number of people who have shared their own stories and reached out to support me,” she said.
As race day approaches, Dr. Guancial shared a bit of wisdom from her own time running the streets in Boston: “Downhill is much harder than uphill! What we lack in elevation for hill training in Florida, we more than make up for with humidity training!”
One sentiment both runners share? “Every step is worth it—the runner’s high from this race lasts a lifetime.”
Countdown to the Finish Line
April 20, 2026
Days before Hollie heads to Boston, she reports that both her mind and body are “feeling great!”
After months of intense training on the roads around Sarasota and in the gym, she’s taking a pause until race day on Monday.“ “The race day forecast calls for temps in the 40s and 50s—“a tad different than what I’ve been training in lately,” Hollie notes.
Her fellow National Ovarian Cancer Coalition Team Tealmembers have gathered on Zoom calls and several have reached out to share “very kind and encouraging words.” All eight runners will meet up for a team dinner this weekend once everyone arrives in Boston.
Hollie is looking ahead to the 26.2-mile trek with a mix of emotions–her mind moving in step with her feet already, tracing each mile of the course, weighing the hills and the unknowns and quietly rehearsing the enormous strength she will draw on to meet every challenge.
Here’s her recap: “I am most excited about toeing the start line…then the NOCC Team Teal Tent around mile 17-18. Pretty nervous about Heartbreak Hill (mile 20/21) and the other inclines, and, of course, the Citgo sign at about mile 25 and most importantly the FINISH!!!”
And once she’s crossed that finish line?
“I am most looking forward to earning my medal,” Hollie says, “and then finding some food and a beer… a hot shower and then my bed, LOL!!!” She’ll spend the rest of the week exploring Beantown.
It’s reported that roughly 24,000–25,000 runners were accepted through the qualifying process. If you’re interested in following Hollie’s progress, don’t worry. “ I just dyed my hair again (teal, of course!) in hopes you might be able to spot me when they pan the course with the TV cameras,” she says with a smile.
The Boston Marathon draws roughly half a million spectators along its course. Tens of thousands will be packed around the Boylston Street finish line at any given time, creating a continuously shifting wall of energy and noise in the heart of Copley Square as runners arrive throughout the day.
And no matter how far they are from Copley Square, Hollie’s wide circle of friends, supporters, students and fellow cancer survivors will be there with her in spirit, every stride of the way—celebrating a journey that has carried her from watching the race on television just a year ago to standing on the starting line herself, an inspiration and a testament to how far she’s come.
Run strong, Hollie. From start to finish, you’ve already won!
