“That’s part of the reason why I do a lot of these hard races is to show well, you know what, you can do anything that you put your heart and your mind to. You can do it. You can achieve it and you don’t have to be held back by a disability.” - Jacky Hunt-Broersma

At 26, Jacky Hunt-Broersma discovered a sensitive spot on her leg which doctors initially thought was scar tissue from a prior surgery; however, when Jacky woke up one morning to discover a lump on her leg, her doctor quickly scheduled a biopsy. Two days later, Jacky received the news she had Ewing Sarcoma and while she was mentally preparing for her battle with cancer, a specialist shared the news she was not prepared for; it was recommended that Jacky have her leg amputated due to the location of the tumor.

Jacky credits her stubbornness for what would happen next. Jacky not only had to learn to walk with a prosthetic, she quickly decided she wanted to run and that set her off on a mission to research the different options available to amputee runners. Once Jacky started running, she couldn’t stop and her journey has been truly inspiring. Last April, Jacky ran 100 miles in 23 hours and 38 minutes on a treadmill and became the first amputee to accomplish this incredible feat. When she’s not running incredibly long distances on a treadmill, she’s crushing ultramarathons in the trails and this coming October, Jacky will be attempting the Moab 240; a 240 mile race in Moab, Utah.

When Jacky isn’t running, she’s helping other amputee athletes prove they not only don’t have to be held back by a disability, they can run even further than they have before.

48. Jacky Hunt-Broersma: Cancer Survivor, Amputee, Ultramarathoner