Racing For A Cure
 Jenny Ko

Jenn Sommermann knows what it means to truly fight and compete. As an ovarian cancer survivor and advocate and an elite athlete, Jenn has a mission to educate women about ovarian cancer and do her part to help find a cure. She has taken her mission nation-wide with her 50x50 campaign ­— a goal of competing in a triathlon in all 50 states by the time she is 50 years old and raising $100,000 for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. 

Jenn began competing in triathlons in 2005. Training proved to be a challenge at first. She was not a swimmer and worked with a swimming coach to strengthen her skills. But Jenn quickly fell in love with the sport.

“I love the cross-training and variety,” she says. “You can’t get bored because everyday you get to choose what you’d like to do.”
Jenn credits her intense training with keeping in tune to her body. When she felt something was not quite right, she knew to get it checked out. In 2006, at age 42, Jenn was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer. Jenn knew she was in for her biggest fight yet. The morning she met with her gynecologic oncologist to discuss the diagnosis, she brought along her suitcase. She told the doctor that she wanted the cancer out of her body immediately and hoped to be operated on that very day. True to her nature, Jenn attacked the cancer as she would any competition — fiercely. After surgery and six taxing months of chemotherapy, her cancer went into remission.

During treatment, Jenn read an advertisement for the U.S. Women’s Triathlon Series. Proceeds from the series support the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF), a non-profit organization dedicated to funding ovarian cancer research in order to find a method of early detection and cure for the disease. Jenn made a commitment that if she survived, she would join OCRF’s Team Hope and compete in all of the races in the series.

Never one to be sidelined for long, Jenn began training to join Team Hope only six weeks after her last chemotherapy treatment. In 2008, she competed in all four triathlons of the U.S. Women’s Triathlon Series as well as an additional four triathlons. She raised $15,000 for OCRF and became Team Hope’s top fundraiser to date.

Jenn decided she wanted to do even more, so in 2009 she launched her 50x50 campaign. Her first two races of the campaign included the Great South Bay Triathlon in Islip, NY and the Enka Triathlon in Asheville, NC. While Jenn says that the Enka triathlon was quite challenging and different from races she is used to, she placed first in her age group at both triathlons. She has six more races scheduled for 2009 and has already raised several thousand dollars.

Through her races, Jenn works to get the word out about ovarian cancer. “Ovarian cancer is not silent. The symptoms are there, but they’re subtle,” she tells women. The symptoms, such as bloating and weight gain, pelvic and/or abdominal pain, and gastrointestinal problems, are common and innocuous, so Jenn is passionate about educating women. “If you feel something is changing, make your doctor prove to you that you don’t have ovarian cancer,” she says.
Jenn may have won her own battle with ovarian cancer, but she continues to stand up to the disease every day. She is driven, not only by her own journey, but the journeys of women everywhere. “This is why I race. This is why I am passionate about finding a method of early detection and cure for ovarian cancer,” Jenn says. “I am using my healthy body to help women who are struggling and who are yet to be diagnosed and to honor those who have lost their battle.”

To follow Jenn as she completes her mission, visit her blog at jennsommermann.blogspot.com. For more information on OCRF, please visit ocrf.org.

View Our Distribution Centers
View Our Supporters