Preventing Cancer Before It Happens

Advocacy at Work · Jan 22, 2026 · 19m

A Sister’s Legacy Becomes a National Movement

In 2005, a woman named Kristen Linquist lost her sister Suzie to young-onset colorectal cancer. Suzie had been active in the running community in Seattle, Washington, and Kristen wanted to honor her memory in a way that felt authentic to who Suzie had been.

So she started a Get Your Rear in Gear team for one of the marathons in the area.

When she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, she decided to bring that spirit with her and approached a local running club: “I want to do this in honor of my sister.”

That first event in 2005 was one of the earliest…