SWFL.io - Local NewsMost days, Hollie Nelsen is in a classroom, surrounded by middle schoolers, lesson plans, and the steady rhythm of school life in Sarasota. But outside of school, she's chasing something much bigger: miles, meaning, and now, one of the biggest finish lines in the world.
Hollie began running almost 10 years ago. A 5K turned into a 10K, then a half-marathon. From there, she pushed into triathlons, completing a half Ironman. Then came marathons, ultramarathons, 50K, 100K, and even 100-mile races. She kept going, kept challenging herself, kept reaching for the next finish line.
Then, on Feb. 10, 2025, everything changed.
Hollie went in for what was supposed to be a standard hysterectomy and a quick return to normal life. Instead, she woke up to a massive incision across her torso and the news that she had high-grade, stage 3B ovarian cancer. The diagnosis came with complications, including painful fluid in her lungs, and just weeks later, she began chemotherapy.
It was the kind of moment that forces everything to stop, except Hollie's determination.
In the middle of treatment, while recovering at home and watching the 2025 Boston Marathon with her family, she saw a teal tent that said National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. Sitting on the couch, it dawned on her, she was going to run it. Not someday, but soon, and with Team TEAL. It is an organization that raises awareness and funds for ovarian cancer research through the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. That moment became her turning point, saying, "I made that my goal right then and there, that I was recovering, and nothing was going to get in my way."
And nothing did.
Once doctors gave her the green light, Hollie started where she could, walking a 5K while still undergoing treatment. Just two weeks after finishing chemotherapy, she ran one. Since her diagnosis, she's completed five races, one of which was a half-marathon, trying to rebuild strength and endurance.
During this time, Hollie continued to apply to be a part of the team. She was in school one day and got a call saying she was a part of Team TEAL. "When they accepted me, it was the most amazing feeling ever," she said. "To know that I was going to get to run the Boston Marathon and it was going to really mean something."
She set a fundraising goal of $21,025, a number tied directly to the date of her diagnosis for February 10th 2025. It was ambitious, but Hollie approached it the same way she approaches running: with creativity, persistence, and heart. Family and friends helped her organize pickleball tournaments, health fairs, collect aluminum cans. Support came from her students, their parents, friends, family, and even strangers who connected with her story. She didn’t just meet her goal, she surpassed it.
Vanda Soldati, Director of Events and Community for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, says, "It doesn't surprise us; she is unstoppable. When you are faced with a life-altering diagnosis like ovarian cancer, setting a goal like this … it's nothing compared to what she has gone through. She is phenomenal."
Notably, Hollie is the only member of Team TEAL this year who has personally battled cancer.
Hollie says she's no longer just running for herself. She's running for everyone. People who are fighting cancer, for those who don't yet know they are, and for those who need to understand how serious and often silent ovarian cancer can be. "I'll tell anybody my story," she said, "whatever you want to hear, just so I can educate people."
Through it all, she hasn’t lost her ability to smile, her sense of humor or her positivity. She credits that to a choice she made early on, "I had to turn this into something positive," she explained. "I had two choices: I could let it take control of me and rule my life, or I fight it and I take control."
Now, just months after finishing chemotherapy, Hollie is preparing to stand at the starting line of the Boston Marathon, one of the most prestigious races in the world. When she crosses that finish line, it won't just mark the end of 26.2 miles. It will represent everything she has endured, overcome, and continues to stand for.
For Hollie Nelsen, running isn't just something she does. It's how she survives and how she proves, mile after mile, that she is still moving forward.
Ovarian cancer is the 11th most common cancer among women, but it's the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death since there is currently no reliable early detection test.
Symptoms can include:
If these symptoms last more than two weeks, doctors urge women to seek medical attention. For more information on how to join Team TEAL and the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, click here.
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