AKRON, Ohio — Daniel and Brianne Pernod have been avid runners for years, but that changed in August 2023 when Daniel was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer that spread to his spine.

What You Need To Know

  • Daniel Pernod was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in August 2023

  • He was in a wheelchair then a walker, and now, he's back to running

  • He and his wife, Brianne, are training to run the Akron Half Marathon

“I couldn’t even walk to the bathroom,” Daniel said.

Daniel completed his first full marathon in December 2022, and he later found out he had the cancer in his body while running the 26.2 miles. The doctors told him to prepare for the worst.

“Some of the doctors doubted I would even go back to work,” Daniel said.

Daniel had surgery and completed both radiation and chemotherapy and has begun his journey back to running. His wife has been by his side through it all.

“It was literal baby steps. It was going from the wheelchair to the walker to, I mean, physical therapy coming into the home to try and help him like just be able to get back up the stairs,” Brianne said.

Daniel is now training for the Akron Half Marathon, which will be his 25th total half marathon.

“That was just my life beforehand so I just wasn’t ready to give it up,” Daniel said.

Brianne will be running alongside him.

“Now it’s very much just a push to return to normalcy and like, back to real life and not letting cancer be like what defines us,” she said.