In the Spotlight with "Rossana Zemek"

Meet Rossana

Running taught me that life is much like the race course: "Dress the part and there is no doubt who you are." 

 I had this epiphany when I ran You Go Girl Half, 2014. My girlfriends and I wore Wonder Woman costumes. Cheers seemed intensified as volunteers yelled "Wonder Woman!" And I heard lots of compliments on the outfit.  It didn't matter that I am far from elite, am "back of the pack" or started running at 43. For this moment, I was a superhero. I am Wonder Woman.

 Just five years ago was a different costume. I was chemo ridden, tired, weak, battling cancer. I wore heels and leather jackets to chemo. I was openly bald.  I put my makeup on like I was in a music video.  I smiled a lot and stood tall, despite my need to collapse with weakness. "Dress the part and there is no doubt who you are."  Somehow those outfits made me feel happy and strong.

 I have been a breast cancer survivor since 2010.  I began running to celebrate life, to encourage others, to do something that scared me more than cancer.  I have completed two ultras, seven marathons, 30 half marathons, and a number of 5K's. I also completed eight rounds of chemo, three surgeries, and 33 rounds of radiation.

I realize now that adversity made me who I became.  Running my town as Wonder Woman gave me a sense of invincibility. I carry that sense in my recent days and look back fondly at my Wonder Woman costume. It reminds me of that invincible feeling.  I hope everyone finds their costume, dresses the part, and is recognized as who they are. That costume changes the course of the day.

 I am a wonderful woman. I am strong. I am defender.  Secretly, I fly an invisible jet. I have red boots on, and know how to use my lasso.

 -Rossana "Wonder Woman" Zemek-