10K Finish Line Dismantled Seconds Before Cancer Survivor Crosses

A breast cancer survivor who was participating in her very first 10K had the goal in sight as race organizers began to deflate it.

You've seen the huge, inflatable Start/Finish lines that are set up at the beginning of races, I'm sure.

It was one of those that came down right in front of one woman's eyes, just as she was about to cross it.

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What some might call adding insult to injury, this particular woman has been on a long road to her first 10K.

According to her husband, Reddit user GastropodSoup, The woman began training for her first 10K 8 years ago.

Before she had the chance to actually participate in a real 10K she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was just 28 years of age when she was diagnosed.

After treatment and recovery, the woman began the rigorous training for the 10K once again.

Soon after, she found out she was pregnant. Soon after that, she lost the baby.

A few months later, the couple finds out that they are expecting, again.

After she has the child, she gets back to training.

If you think that this has been a roller coaster of a ride so far, you're right. But, she hasn't faced her last hurdle.

While training this time, she tore her left calf. According to her husband, it was a "complete" tear.

That injury set her back another 6 months but, as her husband says, she is a "Rockstar" and she "pushes through anything thrown her way".

Well, as you can see in the picture below, just before the woman (circled in red) reaches her goal of finishing a 10K, race organizers begin to deflate the finish line!

I'm not certain how I would have handled seeing the finish line coming down when I am so close to crossing. If I had enough energy, I think that I would have started yelling at the guy that I was on my way.

Also, I would hope that whoever was waiting for me at the finish line would have spoken up and said something. The woman's husband and child were both at the finish line. They could see her approaching.

They could also see the man deflating the finish line and, if you listen, you can even hear the husband say "Oh, no" as the inflatable finish line slowly fell to the ground.

In the end, the woman remained the trooper she had proven herself to be over the past 8 years.

As her husband writes:

This was her fourth try and while I know this is a lot of personal shit, I just wanted to make known how important it was to her and for this to happen after all of that felt like a big joke. We've talked about it throughout the day, as that was just this morning, and she has gotten to where she is feeling the pride she should be and not any level of pity. - GastropodSoup, via Reddit

So, why did the organizers take down the finish line after only one hour and 24 minutes into the race?

Well, as GastropodSoup explains, it was a small race, with around 20 participants.

Though there was a "chase car", it appears that organizers either miscounted or lost track of the participants, as the woman was about 1 minute behind the last person who crossed the finish line ahead of her.

Many people in the comments section who are familiar with 10K races are saying that 1:21:14 is too soon to have taken down the finish line but, again, if organizers thought everyone had finished...

As her husband said, she is now feeling the pride that she should be feeling. This woman has overcome so many obstacles in her life.

Even though she didn't get to cross under the "official" finish line inflatable, she still gets the best reward ever: that huge hug from her kid!

If this woman is like many of the runners I know, the race isn't about finishing ahead of anyone else. It's not about the medals, or the applause, or the "way to go!" shouts from onlookers: it's about being better than you were yesterday.

Congrats to this woman!