Ontario Woman Defies Potentially Debilitating Spine Condition, Prepares to Run Her 50th Marathon

Robyn Michaud at the Tokyo Marathon on March 3, 2024. Michaud has run the world's major six marathons, earning her the Six Star Medal. Courtesy of Robyn Michaud

Robyn Michaud fulfilled a dream last March. Her ailing father, Jerry Michaud, was able to cheer her on as she crossed the finish line of the world’s six most famous marathons. He passed away six months later.

Robyn Michaud, 53, is a single mother living in Woodstock, Ont., and a professor of indigenous studies at Conestoga College. Her marathon journey began in 2012, when she was diagnosed with syringomyelia, a condition where a fluid-filled cyst forms within the spinal cord.