Arizona Cancer Center needs a few good men (and women)
Program designed to make runners 'Better Than Ever'
by Jim Crawford

CAREFREE – Cancer is an insidious disease that affects millions of people in all walks of life.

In the never‑ending quest for a cure, a tremendous amount of money is needed to continue research. Innovative people come up with new and interesting ways to raise funds on a regular basis.

Carefree resident Debbie Huntsman is one of those innovators.

Two years ago Huntsman began a life‑changing transformation from someone who exercised on a regular basis to a person obsessed with fitness and training.

“I never intended to become a runner,” Huntsman said. “I’ve turned into one.”

While undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, a friend told her she was going to dedicate an Iron Man competition to Huntsman.

“I said, ‘That’s nice, when I get well, I’ll dedicate a triathalon to you.’ Well, here she comes with a bicycle one day and told me I’d need to learn to ride it. I’ve always been a pretty good swimmer, so I went to work on the running and biking. I hadn’t done any running since my twenties.”

Heather Alberts was 40 when her husband goaded her into getting in shape after she had been inactive for a long time. She started jogging, found out she liked it, and as they say, the rest is history.

The two women said their lives have been enhanced tremendously by just taking that first step and staying with their fitness regimens. They’ve also become kindred spirits of sorts, sharing a passion for a healthy lifestyle.

In 1999, at the age of 59, Alberts completed her first half marathon. If she could do it, then anyone could, she reasoned.

Eager to share her love of exercise and to get her husband’s colleagues at the Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson walking the talk of cancer prevention, she proposed a half marathon training program which would also raise funds for research.

Thus, in August of 2000, the Better Than Ever Program was born and is gaining converts almost daily.

“I got roped into the Better Than Ever program when I visited my oncologist and he found out I’m a runner,” Huntsman remembers. “He gave me a brochure of the program and suggested I get involved. I asked him if that was a prescription and he said it was. So I did what he said and here I am.”

Better Than Ever is a fitness and fundraising program designed to support people in making walking, running or biking a regular part of their lives, and to raise valuable funds for the Arizona Cancer Center. Team members may train with BTE for the 13.1‑mile Bobbi Olson Half Marathon, Lost Dutchman Half Marathon, the Catalina State Park 5‑mile event, the 6.2‑mile Cinco de Mayo 10K, or the El Tour de Tucson.

The first group of 45 runners considered themselves non‑athletes. Three months later, this same group crossed the finish line of the Tucson Half Marathon.

Now, six years after an auspicious beginning, more than 2,500 people have taken part in the Better Than Ever program.

Alberts continues to be strongly dedicated to BTE because of the difference it has made in the lives of her and the participants.

The BTE program is open to anyone who wants to get in shape and has a desire to help a good cause. Despite the knowledge that regular exercise can and does help prevent certain kinds of cancers, many people lack the know‑how or motivation to begin an exercise program on their own. BTE provides a welcoming, non‑competitive atmosphere for beginning walkers and runners, as well as the information necessary to begin and maintain active lifestyles.

Huntsman said she is eager to have new runners join her for her morning run and to train for a half marathon.

“They don’t have to be good runners,’ she said. “If they are, I’ll try to chase them. If they’re not, I’ll try to help them in any way I can.”

For information on the BTE program or to run with Huntsman, call (480) 893‑2850. You can visit the BTE Web site at www.arizonacancercenter.org.