Knights, a member of "The Bronx Burners" running club, will be participating in the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon and she's doing it with a heavy heart -- honoring her late grandmother who died from breast cancer.
Knights' grandmother, Carol, lost her battle with the disease at age 38 after being diagnosed four years earlier.
"I never thought this was something I could do," Knights said.
The 37-year-old mother of two received an invite to run on behalf of the Susan G. Komen Foundation after they heard her story.
"The nice thing about running the marathon in her honor is I'm hearing more stories about her than I have before," Knights added.
Knights says the conversation about breast cancer is something she's trying to avoid with her children, as she herself has a BRCA 2 gene mutation which increases women's risk for breast cancer as well as ovarian cancer.
"I never want to have those conversations with them," said Knights. "I never want to sit down and say I have cancer."
Just days after the marathon, Knights will have multiple preventative surgeries which will eventually lead to a double mastectomy next year. Doctors told her the surgeries take the risk of developing cancer from nearly 85% to almost zero.
"I just want to finish," Knights acknowledged. "Feel the excitement from the crowd. And really for me, it's about showing my kids I can do it."
Knights has been training for the last 16 weeks in preparation for the marathon.
The 2024 TCS New York City Marathon takes place on Sunday, November 3. Coverage on Channel 7 and wherever you stream ABC 7 New York begins with our pre-race show, Marathon Sunday, at 7:00 a.m. Live coverage of the marathon begins at 8:00 a.m. only on Channel 7 and ESPN2.
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