Babacar Diop’s grandmother and two great-aunts were diagnosed with breast cancer well before he was born. However he remembers hearing chilling stories about how these three strong matriarchs bonded over their shared diagnoses. His grandmother and great aunt fully recovered, however his other great aunt Valerie died from the disease.
Their strength inspired Diop to take on a challenge – compete in six Tough Mudders for BCRF. The epic 10-12 mile mud obstacle course encourages teamwork, camaraderie and is an incredible challenge for all of those involved. Besides training, Diop is committed to raising at least $3,000 for BCRF.
“Those 12 miles are inhabited by some pretty nasty demons, all with the singular mission of defeating and breaking you down,” Diop said. “I’m using Tough Mudders to fundraise because of that spirit of fighting through those demons, and I’m running multiple to make as big of a splash as I can.”
While Diop has ran Tough Mudders before, this will be the first he will run solo.
“Even with thousands of other Mudders around me helping me through obstacles, not having that familiar face in the middle of a hurricane is going to be very intimidating,” he said.
Off the course, Diop has already seen tremendous amount of support. In one week he was able to raise $1,000.
“I am absolutely amazed by their level of caring for me and the cause,” he said.
Throughout his training, Diop says BCRF’s mission remains a key part of why he’s committed to such a lofty goal.
“My dream is that a breast cancer diagnosis is treated with as much alarm as a flu. I want more people not only surviving, but doing so with less invasive procedures and less draining treatments,” he said.
“Human beings have made incredible breakthroughs with so many illnesses, the next big one for breast cancer could be right around the corner.”
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