#350 - WE ARE AVI RAHMANI, A YOUNG INSPIRING RUNNER ON THE RISE AFTER DEFEATING CANCER

At a high school track meet I was working as an official this spring, a young man came up to me and commented about my ever-present Yankees cap and mentioned that his uncle had once played for the Bronx Bombers. I figured it would be some nobody, but it turned out to be Hall of Famer and Yankees legend Goose Gossage. As Avi Rahmani of Ralston Valley H.S. in Arvada, Colo., and I got to know each other, I learned about his amazing story of contracting a rare form of cancer, leading to having a kidney removed, and eight agonizing months of chemotherapy and isolation in the hospital. He came out of that ordeal healthy and with a new attitude toward life and a renewed enthusiasm for running. Any recovery has its share of road bumps, and Avi’s took a different turn. He developed the same uncommon vocal cord dysfunction that you heard about in our episode a few weeks ago with high school runners Benji Anderson and Peak Performance teammate Bobby Kieswetter, who got him directed to their doctor at Denver’s National Jewish hospital. This brave young man discusses the challenges that he and his family stood up to during his serious illness, and Avi’s life is definitely on the upswing now as he prepares for his senior year. You’ll come away with a renewed sense of optimism when you hear this exceptionally nice guy’s upbeat attitude and about how he looks forward to being a leader on his high school cross country team and having a long, healthy life that will make a difference in the world.Avi RahmaniInstagram and Threads @avi.rahmani This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit billstahl8.substack.com