Doctors gave her a 17% chance to live. Now she’s running the Cowtown Marathon
Abigail Phillips was never supposed to be here.
Never supposed to run again. Never supposed to have children. After a devastating cancer diagnosis seven years ago, doctors gave her a 17% chance of survival.
On Sunday, Phillips will run her first marathon — the Cowtown in Fort Worth — with her two children cheering as she crosses the finish line. Every step she takes during the race will remind her that she is alive. That she is breathing. That she beat the odds.
“I never thought I would be here,” Phillips said. “I never thought I would be crossing a finish line of something so huge. The fact that I am even able to take a breath in is huge, let alone do that while running and challenging myself to extreme distances.”
The mesothelioma diagnosis
In 2019, Phillips went to the hospital after six months of experiencing unknown health issues. She got blood work done and was told something was seriously wrong. In one evening, her entire world changed. She was told she had a 10-17% chance of beating malignant pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer in the lining of the lungs.
There were fewer than a dozen surgeons in the world willing to perform the surgery Phillips required. The odds were just too low. Phillips, who was born in Texas but had been spending the last few years living in Arkansas, moved to Houston to be closer to her doctors and treatment. She had multiple surgeries, one that removed the lining of her lung. Another removed a rib and 40% of her diaphragm.
“I couldn’t even walk down the hallway without stopping and taking a breath,” Phillips said. “I spent three weeks in the ICU and then was released but had to live right by the hospital for checkups and complications. Then shortly after that we started chemo.”
After six months of chemotherapy, Phillips was in remission. She got pregnant not long after. There was a light at the end of the tunnel.
But life was anything but normal. Phillips wanted to be active. Doctors told her it would never happen, though she had already beaten the odds to still be standing.
“I started running as a challenge to myself after my diagnosis,” Phillips said. “I don’t like to accept limitations. So when they told me that I would have a more sedentary lifestyle that I couldn’t really run, that to me was a challenge.
“One day I was pushing my kid in the stroller and I was like, ‘I’m just going to see if I can run,’” Phillips said. “I ran for 15 seconds and it was horrible. Then I told myself I am just going to keep pushing myself until I can do this. And then one day I ran a full mile without stopping.”
Training for the Cowtown Marathon
Phillips didn’t competitively run before her cancer diagnosis. She lived an active lifestyle and played tennis for 18 years but didn’t take running seriously until she was told she would never be able to do it again. That was a challenge.
The road ahead was hard. Phillips struggled to run long distances while controlling her breathing. She credits her husband and her faith for keeping her going when the journey got darkest.
“That morning I found out I was diagnosed with cancer, I was reading my Bible,” Phillips said. “Just having that foundation, as well as being surrounded by so many people that love me and push me, is what gets you through it.”
Phillips started by running shorter distances without focusing on times. She ran multiple 5K and 10Ks to start, then finished her first half marathon by the end of 2024. She ran the Cowtown half marathon last year because her sister graduated from TCU. Phillips was fascinated with the course and the chance to run through the Stockyards.
“I was able to run the half marathon last year with my sister,” Phillips said. “I just loved getting to see the area. It was a beautiful, well put together run and the atmosphere was so great. So looking at a full marathon, I loved those aspects of it so much. I did some research on what the course was like and just thought it would be a great way to see the city.”
Preparing for race day
When Phillips crosses the finish line of the Cowtown on Sunday, her husband and children will be there waiting for her. She has done everything she was told she wouldn’t be able to. She’s alive. She’s the mother of two children. She can run.
But full marathon — something that even most of the healthiest of humans haven’t done — means something more. It is a reminder that she is not only alive, but thriving.
“I think it will be very emotional,” Phillips said. “Even just this training cycle has been hard. I had a calf injury, I had gotten sick, my kids have been sick, my husband is starting a new job. So there have been a lot of challenges.”
The journey hasn’t been solo. Phillips trained in Northwest Arkansas with a group called Rush Running. She credits her running partners and coaches with getting her through the toughest periods. They’ve helped her when she was at her weakest and empowered her to be her strongest.
“(Rush Running) has seen something in me from the beginning, and they have been able to push me and empower me,” Phillips said. “I feel like I’m not just running for myself. I’m running for my community that has come alongside me through this journey and have encouraged me and never let me give up.
“If I had taken what I was told, that I can’t have kids, I can’t run, I can’t do all this, then I just wouldn’t be living,” Phillips said. “Instead I was able to identify that, yes this is really hard, but you can push yourself. You can do hard things and you can get to the finish line.”
