Ironman Martin Evanoff Says No to Cancer

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My name is Martin Evanoff and I was diagnosed with cancer in 2003. Since then I have competed in five Ironman races. This year I will be competing in Ironman Arizona, which will be my sixth Ironman competition on November 21, 2010.

April 6, 2010 - began taking Tasigna (nilotinib), a new drug treatment that is still in it's clinical trial stage. find out more

May 12-13, 2010 - I will be a speaking at the Terry Fox Research Institute conference for Translational Research in Vancouver. The topic will be my story of living with cancer. find out more

July 1, 2010 - Martin's Surf and Turf race at Gulliver's Lake near Hamilton. My triathlon club is hosting a fundraising swim/run event in my honor (and that of Dan Little, another club member who has recently been diagnosed with cancer). Go here to enter or find out more. All funds raised will be donated to Wellwood in Hamilton. Wellwood is a community-based, non-profit organization which provides information, supportive care programs and peer support to people who have received a diagnosis of cancer, their families and caregivers, and healthcare providers.

November 21, 2010 - Ironman Arizona, in Tempe Arizona. This will be my second year in a row for this race. Last year's race was mentally the most challenging Ironman event I have ever done.


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My Cancer Story

I'm 55 years old. The 2009 Ironman Arizona event was my fifth Ironman race since first being diagnosed with GIST in 2003. I competed in Ironman Lake Placid in 2008, Ironman Canada in 2007, Ironman Canada in 2006 and Ironman Lake Placid in 2005. The need to do an Ironman is a long story. This is that story.

When you’re first told you have cancer, it’s like you’ve just landed on that D-Day beach from the movie “Saving Private Ryan”. Death is stalking you. You just want to find somewhere to hide. And I did hide, I told my family and only those I needed to about my illness. No one else knew. I fought it quietly, my own way. A few years went by, and one day I read a Lance Armstrong interview. He talked about the obligation to let people know that cancer could be overcome. It made me realize I was never going to get off that beach if I kept on hiding. We had to move forward to win this battle. I went public with my disease to let everyone know you can live with it and it can be beaten. With enough research money it might even disappear. read more

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2007 Fundraising

In August 2007, I raced in my third Ironman by competing in Ironman Canada as a member of the "Race 4 Kids" team to help children with cancer and their families. All the money raised went to the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO). Our 2007 Race 4 Kids fundraising team rose over $150,000 to help children with cancer.

I had a great race with my best finishing time for an Ironman competition of 11 hours and 16 minutes.

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2006 Fundraising Story

Last year, at the beginning of May, I decided to use my August 2006 Ironman Canada race as a platform to raise cancer awareness and fundraise. I was inspired by a Lance Armstrong story in the May issue of Sports Illustrated. Before that, only a handful of people knew that I had lived with having incurable cancer since 2003.

I had always admired Lance’s attitude and passion in fighting cancer. Even though he is now retired from cycling, he has still made raising cancer awareness a priority. He is an inspiration to many cancer patients, survivors, their family and friends. I'm not in the same league as Lance, but I had been told that I could also show others there is hope, you could live with cancer. read more

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This page was last updated on July 17, 2007.