Cancer to 5K

Moving Together Through Survivorship

CFI project lead: Grace Herron
CFI advisor: Eleanor Sun, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine

Regular exercise offers significant benefits for cancer survivors, including improved fitness, enhanced quality of life and reduced cancer-specific mortality. However, many survivors face challenges when trying to return to physical activity after treatment. To address this, the team created "Cancer to 5K (CT5K) Ann Arbor," a free, 12-week training program designed to empower survivors to train for and complete a 5K race in a supportive community environment.

The team partnered with the Ulman Foundation to organize training sessions, reach out to survivors through local organizations and running shops and recruit dedicated volunteers. Beyond weekly practices, they fostered a sense of community with social activities such as ice cream outings and post-race celebrations.

Since its launch, CT5K Ann Arbor has supported survivors from Washtenaw County and beyond, both in-person and virtually. Post-program surveys showed that participants were very satisfied, felt more confident in their ability to be active, and experienced improved social support and physical health. Common barriers to participation included injuries, weather and scheduling.

The team is committed to continuous improvement based on participant feedback and looks forward to supporting more survivors in future seasons. All participants indicated they would recommend Cancer to 5K to others.

Topic area: Quality Control

Q&A with Grace Herron

In what ways did this project influence your academic or career goals?

I want to continue to work with cancer patients in my future career and hope to start a Cancer to 5K team wherever I end up for residency!

What challenges did you face during your CFI project, and how did you address them?

One challenge we encountered in both seasons was weather that was not conducive to running/walking, including poor air quality from wildfires as well as extreme heat during the summer. To address these challenges, we reached out to the Meri Lou Murray Recreational Center and were able to use their indoor space a couple of times for practices. We also shifted practice times later in the evening when it was a bit cooler.

Another challenge we encountered was difficulty recruiting survivors for the program. We initially attempted to start Team Ann Arbor in 2022 but did not have any survivors sign up. To better connect with survivors who may be interested in the program, we reached out to various contacts at Michigan Medicine as well as local community organizations and were able to spread the word and reach interested survivors!

What skills did you develop while working on your project, and how might these skills benefit your future career?

Being a part of Cancer to 5K taught me many skills, including how to help others work towards goals, how to be adaptable to changing circumstances, and how to help motivate a group. I think all of these skills will be beneficial in a career in medicine, including helping with motivational interviewing with patients, helping patients set and work towards different health-related goals, and navigating different clinical scenarios as a resident when working on teams.

What was the most rewarding aspect of your CFI project, and why was it meaningful to you?

The most rewarding aspects of Cancer to 5K were the incredible people I met through the program as well as being able to race with survivors during the 5K. It was so special to be a part of that moment and then cheer on my teammates at the race after seeing how hard they had worked over the course of the season!

If you could repeat your CFI project, what would you change to improve the outcomes or process?

If I could repeat this project, I would implement a better system to track volunteer sign-up for each individual practice. There were some weeks throughout the season where we had less volunteer coverage which made practice more difficult since we have survivors of differing ability levels. I think implementing a system where volunteers sign up for each individual practice (e.g., by using an Excel spreadsheet or Google form sign-up sheet) rather than attend when available would enrich the experience for both survivors and volunteers, ensuring sufficient coverage and creating longitudinal relationships!

What advice would you offer to future students starting a CFI project, based on your experience?

I would tell students to choose a project that you are truly excited about, and it will make the experience so much more meaningful. My project was a highlight of my medical school experience and something I looked forward to each week, and that is what made the project even more meaningful.