When she walked onto the cross country and track and field teams at the U of M in 2004, Coach Gary Wilson knew Gabriele “Gabe” Anderson “was going to be tough.” The tiny, feisty runner joined the team at not-quite-Division-1 caliber, according to Wilson—but by the end of her sophomore year, she had more than proven herself.

When she finished her career at the U of M, Anderson [later Grunewald after her marriage], was a seven-time All-Big-Ten selection (five in track, two in cross country) and still holds the Gophers’ school record in the outdoor 1,500 meters. She was also a captain for both the cross country and track and field teams, and a member of six Big Ten Championship teams with indoor wins in 2007, 2008, and 2009, an outdoor title in 2006, and back-to-back cross country crowns in 2007 and 2008.

She even went on to a high-profile career as a professional runner.

It’s no surprise, then, that when Grunewald (B.A. ’08, M.P.P. ’19) received a cancer diagnosis her senior year, she applied that same spark and determination to fight it. Anderson—who married college sweetheart and teammate Justin Grunewald (B.S. ’08, ’09, M.D. ’14)—unfortunately succumbed to adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) in 2019, but not before helping launch the Brave Like Gabe Foundation in 2018.

Seven years after passing, her legacy lives on—through the many lives she touched during her illness, and especially, through the contributions her foundation makes each year. The foundation’s mission: to support rare cancer research and empower cancer survivors through physical activity.

A legend and a legacy

To date, the Brave Like Gabe Foundation has made $2.2 million in grants to five different institutions. “We don’t have a call for proposals,” says the foundation’s executive director Alyssa Hawkins. “We go out and find the grantees and have special relationships with them.”

Grant recipients include the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, where Gabe’s professional sponsor, Brooks Running, is based. There, researchers run the TRACER Rare Cancer Initiative. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, another recipient, was part of Gabe’s treatment team. Other beneficiaries include the Masonic Cancer Center at the U of M, the Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation, and the DanaFarber Cancer Institute, where researchers have begun new trials to help those afflicted with ACC like Gabe.

Branden Moriarity (Ph.D. ’12), associate professor of pediatric hematology/oncology at the U of M medical school, has used funds from Brave Like Gabe to develop potential new treatments for pediatric osteosarcoma. “We are so grateful to the foundation for their support and partnership over the last five years,” he says. “It will likely culminate in the initiation of a new clinical trial.”

While the grants are a major part of the foundation’s work, so too is continuing the storytelling Gabe began while she was ill. “Gabe’s legacy is drawing attention to rare cancers,” says Hawkins. “She told her story on social media—a product of her generation—and this inspired people to contribute their stories. There’s so much isolation in rare cancers, unlike the better known, more common types.”

Throughout her journey with ACC, Gabe created the #BraveLikeGabe hashtag, which caught on like fire. “She didn’t like naming the organization after herself,” says Hawkins. “But she also wanted people to be brave like themselves. She built a community of people who were brave through their own hard things, and we engage with and share those stories, too.”

Hawkins says rare cancers make up a full 50 percent of the cancers diagnosed each year. “We have an obligation to shine a light on these cancers,” she says. 

Setting an example for everyone

Gabe’s husband Justin was with her every step of the way throughout her illness. After she died, Justin stepped onto the Brave Like Gabe board in her place. “When Gabe had a recurrence that required treatment in New York, some friends put together a GoFundMe to help offset the costs,” he says. “We had money left over, and that’s when we decided to start the foundation.”

Gabe’s story resonated with people, Justin says, and continues to do so today. “She was a healthy 20-year-old in the prime of her running career and diagnosed with a terrible, rare disease,” he says. “In the end, she made the most of it, and taught people you can manage your story by taking action.”

In a time when scientific research struggles for funding, Hawkins says, the Brave Like Gabe Foundation’s mission is more important than ever. “The farther we get from Gabe’s passing, the more difficult it becomes to motivate people to donate. How do we build on her hopes?”

The foundation’s strategic plan intends to do just that and is adding staff and board members this year. “We’ve set some big goals around our fundraising and grant making,” says Hawkins.

Coach Wilson says that when Gabe received her initial diagnosis, she shared it with her teammates at an away meet. “The kids on the team fell apart,” he recalls. “But Gabe got up the next day, ran a personal best, and showed us that she was not going to let cancer get to her.”

That fire carried Gabe through several more years of illness. “She was the consummate advocate, and many people jumped on board to help because of that,” Wilson says. “She always got back up and continued to race. It was something to behold.”

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