Don’t Call It a Comeback: Charley McAvoy Training for 100-Mile Race Only Months After Cancer Surgery
One softball size mass and 700 lesions were removed from endurance athlete Charley McAvoy last November. Now, just a few months post-op, he and his girlfriend, Sage Burgener, are already training for a 100-mile running race set for June.
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How It Started
McAvoy, 44, is a strong and healthy individual who grew up playing sports, doing triathlons, CrossFit, and more, for many years.
So when he started having some strange stomach issues, he thought nothing of it and continued his training. But the persistent discomfort brought him to a doctor who, after several misdiagnoses, found out there was a “softball-sized mass” in his intestines.
“Doctors started doing tests and found out it was a gastrointestinal stromal tumor,” McAvoy tells Morning Chalk Up in an interview. “They prescribed chemotherapy right away, and I did that for about eight months.”
The chemotherapy ended up shrinking the tumor, and then doctors planned on a non-invasive surgery to remove the rest of the cancer. But the four-hour surgery turned into almost an eight-hour procedure that left McAvoy with a scar from his pubic bone to the bottom of his chest.
The doctors removed the cancerous mass, along with 700 lesions and his appendix. He also had work done on his bladder and had a bowel resection.
“We were out of the hospital in about five days. Which was really fast for what had happened and I kind of played by the rules for six weeks of what they asked me to and then just started putting the pieces back together,” McAvoy says.
How It’s Going
Burgener, a well-known Olympic weightlifting coach who hails from the Burgener Strength weightlifting dynasty, stood by McAvoy’s side the entire time and saw him come out of a dark place following the diagnosis and procedure.
“It was crazy to see. I could see the day when the switch flipped, where it was almost like he needed to just be back into living who he was. And when his mindset made that shift, his body responded,” Burgener says.
McAvoy recovered remarkably fast after surgery, and while he continues to undergo non-intravenous chemotherapy treatment, he’s keeping up with training and taking things day by day.
“I use running as a big part of rebuilding and rehabbing and kind of getting back on track. My body really responds well to it and gets everything kind of moving and flowing and functioning the way it should be,” McAvoy says.
The Big Picture
McAvoy wasn’t looking to sign up for another race quite yet, but Burgener was planning on doing the 2024 ‘San Diego 100’ in June and convinced him to sign up with her.
Before his surgery, McAvoy was signed up to do a 200-mile race but was too sick to compete and ended up missing out. The upcoming race signifies McAvoy’s drive as an athlete and the power of a strong mind to get through tough circumstances.
“A big part of who we are and what we do is not being a victim. Bad things happen to bad people, good things happen to bad people,” McAvoy says. “There’s no rhyme or reason. The bottom line is something’s going to come to test you in life at any given point, and we’re all going to get it. Something will challenge us.”
He and Burgener have started an ultramarathon strength training program called Ultra Strength Collective after growing interest from members at Fallbrook CrossFit, the gym McAvoy owns. Seven members have already signed up for the race they’re doing and engagement is continuing to grow.
McAvoy’s journey to recovery is far from over, but he isn’t letting it stop him from the training he wants to pursue and the races he plans to compete in.
“The training never stops, and I saw him live that,” Burgener says.
Burgener adds that she’s proudest of McAvoy for exemplifying that: “Life doesn’t stop and this isn’t going to be my identity. I’m just going to keep being me. Keep doing what I do. And this is just another thing that’s kind of coming along with me. It’s not me.”
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Featured image: @sage burgener / Instagram