True ‘Survivor’: Ethan Zohn to run in Boston Marathon
Courtesy of Anderson Group Public Relations
Ethan Zohn (left), a cancer survivor and former champion of the TV show, 鈥淪urvivor,鈥� will be running in the Boston Marathon April 18.
Courtesy of Anderson Group Public Relations
Ethan Zohn, a two-time 鈥渃ancer crusher,鈥� is celebrating the 10th anniversary of being in remission by running in the Bostom Marathon on April 18. Zohn also was the winner of the third season of the TV show, 鈥淪urvivor.鈥�
Courtesy of Anderson Group Public Relations
Ethan Zohn, cancer survivor and former winner of the TV show, 鈥淪urvivor,鈥� greets fans at an event in which he ran. He plans to run the Boston Marathon April 18.
Survivor is definitely a word to associate with Ethan Zohn.
After all, Zohn was the winner of 鈥淪urvivor: Africa,鈥� the third season of the reality TV series 鈥淪urvivor.鈥�
The Massachusetts native is also a two-time cancer survivor, or as he likes to say 鈥渃ancer crusher.鈥�
He has been in remission for 10 years, and to celebrate that anniversary, Zohn plans to run in the Boston Marathon on April 18.
鈥淚 feel like everything in my life has been leading up to this point,鈥� Zohn said recently. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy to go back to my hometown, celebrate 10 years and raise money and awareness for a great cancer organization. I want to get to the finish line.鈥�
Zohn will be fundraising for AKTIV Against Cancer, an organization with the mission to make physical activity a part of cancer treatments.
He ran in the Boston Marathon in 2013 and was stopped just two miles shy of the finish line because of the terrorist bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds of others.
His father Aaron, who died when Zohn was 14, ran the Boston Marathon, allowing him to literally follow in his father鈥檚 footsteps.
The 48-year-old was diagnosed in 2009 at the age of 35 with a rare form of blood cancer, called CD 20+ Hodgkin鈥檚 Lymphoma.
Cannabis has played an integral role in his health and fitness journey.
Zohn partnered with Trulieve Cannabis Corp. last month, becoming the official ambassador of Momenta, the company鈥檚 in-house everyday wellness and overall well-being brand.
So, he also is running the marathon to raise awareness of the benefits of cannabis that he discovered after facing the harsh side effects of cancer treatments.
鈥淲hen I was going through cancer, I didn鈥檛 have access to cannabis,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚 had a really hard time accessing my medicine. So I had to hit the streets and talk to a drug dealer. (D)oing an illegal activity on top of the stressful situation of having cancer, it wasn鈥檛 a pleasurable experience.鈥�
That led Zohn to want to educate people on how to access cannabis and the benefits of cannabis.
As for the show 鈥淪urvivor,鈥� Zohn readily admitted how important it has been in his life. He also participated in 鈥淪urvivor All Stars鈥� and 鈥淪urvivor: Winners at War.鈥�
鈥淭hat show changed my life in such a positive and magical way,鈥� Zohn said. 鈥淲inning the million dollars and having a platform to able to do some good stuff with that is really I feel how the show changed my life.鈥�
The money allowed him to be a co-founder of Grassroot Soccer, a health organization that uses soccer to teach kids to make smarter choices in life.
Zohn participated in 鈥淲inners at War,鈥� after 16 years away from the show. The show pitted 20 former sole survivors against each other, and awarded $2 million to the winner. He went in with with a unique strategy, setting some game goals as well as some life goals while playing, including watching a sunset and making friendships to last a lifetime.
鈥淭hat was an opportunity that I didn鈥檛 want to miss out on,鈥� he said. 鈥淥n the flip side, I was a little concerned, having been through some health challenges and getting myself mentally and physically ready to play again was a challenge. In the end, it was a good experience. I structured my game to try to achieve something that I鈥檇 be proud of that would actually happen in the game.鈥�
On the subject of friendships, Zohn said he keeps in contact with some of other former contestants of the show such as Boston Rob Mariano, Parvati Shallow, Tyson Apostol and Natalie Anderson.
He鈥檚 also watching the current season, which has whittled down the number of days contestants play.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 any better or worse, it鈥檚 just different,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 26 days, so the survival aspect of the game has been minimized. The game is a lot more fast paced. A lot more happens on a daily basis. I think a below average player can do well in this type of game because so many people make mistakes.鈥�
Zohn has a simple message for anyone who gets a cancer diagnosis.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e diagnosed with cancer, everything up to that point in your life all of a sudden is magnified,鈥� Zohn said. 鈥淵ou can look at those things and make changes. The moment in which you鈥檙e diagnosed and the opportunity you have to connect with yourself is a pretty powerful moment.鈥�