True ‘Survivor’: Ethan Zohn to run in Boston Marathon
Courtesy of Anderson Group Public Relations
Ethan Zohn (left), a cancer survivor and former champion of the TV show, “Survivor,” will be running in the Boston Marathon April 18.
Courtesy of Anderson Group Public Relations
Ethan Zohn, a two-time “cancer crusher,” is celebrating the 10th anniversary of being in remission by running in the Bostom Marathon on April 18. Zohn also was the winner of the third season of the TV show, “Survivor.”
Courtesy of Anderson Group Public Relations
Ethan Zohn, cancer survivor and former winner of the TV show, “Survivor,” greets fans at an event in which he ran. He plans to run the Boston Marathon April 18.
Survivor is definitely a word to associate with Ethan Zohn.
After all, Zohn was the winner of “Survivor: Africa,” the third season of the reality TV series “Survivor.”
The Massachusetts native is also a two-time cancer survivor, or as he likes to say “cancer crusher.”
He has been in remission for 10 years, and to celebrate that anniversary, Zohn plans to run in the Boston Marathon on April 18.
“I feel like everything in my life has been leading up to this point,” Zohn said recently. “I’m happy to go back to my hometown, celebrate 10 years and raise money and awareness for a great cancer organization. I want to get to the finish line.”
Zohn will be fundraising for AKTIV Against Cancer, an organization with the mission to make physical activity a part of cancer treatments.
He ran in the Boston Marathon in 2013 and was stopped just two miles shy of the finish line because of the terrorist bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds of others.
His father Aaron, who died when Zohn was 14, ran the Boston Marathon, allowing him to literally follow in his father’s footsteps.
The 48-year-old was diagnosed in 2009 at the age of 35 with a rare form of blood cancer, called CD 20+ Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Cannabis has played an integral role in his health and fitness journey.
Zohn partnered with Trulieve Cannabis Corp. last month, becoming the official ambassador of Momenta, the company’s in-house everyday wellness and overall well-being brand.
So, he also is running the marathon to raise awareness of the benefits of cannabis that he discovered after facing the harsh side effects of cancer treatments.
“When I was going through cancer, I didn’t have access to cannabis,” he recalled. “I had a really hard time accessing my medicine. So I had to hit the streets and talk to a drug dealer. (D)oing an illegal activity on top of the stressful situation of having cancer, it wasn’t a pleasurable experience.”
That led Zohn to want to educate people on how to access cannabis and the benefits of cannabis.
As for the show “Survivor,” Zohn readily admitted how important it has been in his life. He also participated in “Survivor All Stars” and “Survivor: Winners at War.”
“That show changed my life in such a positive and magical way,” Zohn said. “Winning the million dollars and having a platform to able to do some good stuff with that is really I feel how the show changed my life.”
The money allowed him to be a co-founder of Grassroot Soccer, a health organization that uses soccer to teach kids to make smarter choices in life.
Zohn participated in “Winners at War,” after 16 years away from the show. The show pitted 20 former sole survivors against each other, and awarded $2 million to the winner. He went in with with a unique strategy, setting some game goals as well as some life goals while playing, including watching a sunset and making friendships to last a lifetime.
“That was an opportunity that I didn’t want to miss out on,” he said. “On the flip side, I was a little concerned, having been through some health challenges and getting myself mentally and physically ready to play again was a challenge. In the end, it was a good experience. I structured my game to try to achieve something that I’d be proud of that would actually happen in the game.”
On the subject of friendships, Zohn said he keeps in contact with some of other former contestants of the show such as Boston Rob Mariano, Parvati Shallow, Tyson Apostol and Natalie Anderson.
He’s also watching the current season, which has whittled down the number of days contestants play.
“I don’t think it’s any better or worse, it’s just different,” he said. “It’s 26 days, so the survival aspect of the game has been minimized. The game is a lot more fast paced. A lot more happens on a daily basis. I think a below average player can do well in this type of game because so many people make mistakes.”
Zohn has a simple message for anyone who gets a cancer diagnosis.
“When you’re diagnosed with cancer, everything up to that point in your life all of a sudden is magnified,” Zohn said. “You can look at those things and make changes. The moment in which you’re diagnosed and the opportunity you have to connect with yourself is a pretty powerful moment.”