From Cancer to Endurance Cycling: Marc Julien's Story
February 4th is World Cancer Day, an international day marked to raise awareness and encourage the prevention, detection, and treatment of all types of cancer. In honor of these efforts, we at Nuun want to share a story that was shared with us. Marc Julien was 47 years old and the father of a three-week-old baby girl when he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in his left lymphoid and tonsil.
Previous to his diagnosis Marc described himself as a disconnected workaholic. As he and his wife faced the brutal realities of such a serious cancer diagnosis and the treatment that came with it, Marc took solace in fatherhood and he promised himself that when he was healthy again he was going to push himself to do something totally out of the box.
After 4 challenging months of radiation and chemotherapy Marc’s cancer was in remission. Though he lives with the reality that cancer may return, he has embraced that fact and his new reality is shaped by the lessons he learned over the course of his illness and treatment. One of the greatest changes in his life post-cancer has been his outlook, of which he says “I have gained a love for the present. I take power from the punches life delivers and I always search for the silver lining.”
As far as his promise to do something “totally out of the box”, Marc has gone all in. In June of 2021 he’ll compete in the 2021 Race Across America with 7 other team members (previously strangers to him) to raise money for cancer research.
Race across America was started in 1982 and has become a pinnacle of endurance cycling across the globe. 30% longer than the Tour de France, the Race Across America challenges riders with a wide variety of terrain and weather conditions over the 8 to 12 day journey. Marc’s team for Race Across America consists of seven other men, all who are either cancer survivors or have had their life greatly impacted by cancer. Marc found most of his teammates through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and while they are all training separately across the world, they are working towards one singular goal: to raise half a million dollars for cancer research.
We first learned about Marc’s journey when he reached out to us on Facebook. In his message he told us how he had started drinking Nuun during his cancer treatment. He first learned about Nuun from his acupuncturist, who suggested he might be severely dehydrated as a result of his cancer treatment. Marc says that within 2 days of drinking Nuun his vertigo and other dehydration symptoms disappeared. After he completed cancer treatment and began training for Race Across America, he again found that Nuun provided the clean, powerful hydration he needed to keep pushing towards his goals in the hot Florida weather.
We were moved by Marc’s story, especially his dedication to bringing together a group of strangers with the common goal to accomplish an incredible feat of physical endurance and fundraising for an extremely important cause. We hope you’ll join us in cheering Marc and his team on as they brave the 3000 mile race across the United States. We’re honored to be part of their journey. You can follow their training and progress on Facebook and Instagram. The team will ride together for the first time at the 29th Annual America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride in June.
