My Grandma, Elizabeth Landau Kolman, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018. Before that time, I knew nothing about pancreatic cancer, and after a few Google searches, it would be an understatement to say I didn't like what I found. But Grandma Liz would be different - she was a fighter.

My Grandma had worked as a teacher at a school in the South Bronx. Nothing would phase her, and I truly thought it would be another battle she would win. She went from treatment to treatment, chemo session to chemo session, rehab to rehab, for a year. She still found a way to watch every single Yankees game. Yes, all 162 games; if you think you're a real baseball fan, compared to her, you are not. 

As she would say, Grandma Liz was not the most outgoing person in the world. She had a great, dry sense of humor and she always showed up, no questions asked, every time. I cannot count the number of times she watched me strike out, or airball a jump shot, or fail spectacularly at another sport. So when it mattered most, that's we did for her - showed up.

My Grandma's last wish was that someone be holding her hand when she passed. So for weeks, one of my parents was at Columbia Presbyterian, day and night. It was heartbreaking, but it made me so proud of my parents. When she passed on September 9th, 2019, my Dad was there holding her hand. 

I would be remiss to not mention Jerry Reiter, who passed away in 2022 after a battle with Pancreatic Cancer. Jerry and my Grandma spent the last few years of their lives together. He was an incredibly bright and special person, and my whole family loved having him in our lives. 

I started running in the Spring of my senior year of college, after I was done playing football. It was natural for me. Both my parents are runners, especially my mom, who woke up at the crack of dawn every day when I was a kid to run in Central Park. I'm not a great runner, but I love it. When I run, I still listen to podcasts and radio shows that my Grandma introduced me to through her love for WNYC programming. 

It's rare to be able to combine something I love with something so meaningful. Inspired by my close friend Connor, who is also running the NYC Marathon for charity, I reached out to team Let's Win PC, and I'm incredibly grateful to them for allowing me to be on their team.  

It would mean the world to my family and me if you could donate and spread the word to as many people as possible. Every dollar matters in the fight against pancreatic cancer, and there's no amount too small. 

Thank you all for the support, and I hope I'm making you all proud. 

Nick