Runner breaking through barriers after life-changing diagnosis

    DENVER, Colorado (KCNC) -- After a life-changing diagnosis, a Colorado woman is determined to live life to the fullest. Now, she's training for the biggest run of her life.

"If you would have said, 'You're going to be running to Nebraska,' I thought that was not on my bingo card," said Castle Rock resident Megan Gage.

Despite the 189-mile run she's preparing for, Megan is the first to admit she isn't an elite athlete.

"In the beginning, I almost felt like a liar. Where it was like I didn't have the right to call myself a runner," Gage said.

She has been running for less than five years, a hobby she picked up after receiving the worst news of her life.

"My future turned gray, where it's like, all the color is instantly sucked out," said Gage.

Gage was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, called MS. It's an autoimmune disease that has the potential to strip her of all movement and lead to her eventual death. So, she decided it was time to start crossing things off her bucket list.

One of those things was to run a half marathon.

"My original intention was like, I'm just going to do this. And now I did it, and it's over," said Gage. "I got it done. And at the end of that, my husband sent, gave me a little keychain that said 13.1 and a half crazy."

But little did she know that, like many runners, she had become hooked.

"I said, I think I got to go back for the big boy. Like, I got to do the whole thing," she explained.

After running her first marathon last year, both Gage and her coach wondered what was next.

That's when she saw the "MS Run the US" team. They were running a cross-country relay to raise money and awareness for MS. Gage thought she would like to join; all she had to do was tell her coach.

"When I told her this, there's almost shame to it that this is such a big stupid goal and somebody like me has no business even swinging at it. And her response was life-changing. And she said, 'As your coach, it's not my job to judge you. It's my job to hear your goals and to give you the tools to accomplish them,'" said Gage.

Now, she and her team are deep into training for the May run. Next month, Gage will make the trek from Denver's Sloan's Lake to Wray, CO, which sits next to the Colorado-Nebraska border. She says she's ready.

"I literally have showed up every day; there is a plan," said Gage.

All that's left is to run. A passion she may have never picked up if it wasn't for her MS diagnosis but has ultimately helped her become healthier than she ever could have imagined

"I live in such a mindful, intentional way," she said.

And she wants everyone to know that no matter what your challenge is, when you meet it head on, you can overcome.

"My hope is that somebody will see this story, and they will open their eyes to what's possible," said Gage. "Of course, it's a sad, dark day, but it's like it can also be an invitation for a new chapter."

Gage wants to raise $10,000. She's well on her way with nearly $7,000 already raised and one month left to donate.