Megan Goethals back after stress fracture and supporting family

If you had asked Megan Goethals in August whether or not she would have been running in general, let alone at the NCAA Championships, the answer would have been no. Shortly after the USA Championships in Des Moines Iow., Goethal's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer
, which spread quickly and aggressively. At one point the doctors said she only had a few weeks to live. But after six and a half weeks in the hospital, she is now in remission and things are looking up. Still, Megan decided to live at home this semester to help her mother through her recovery. The bad news, however, wasn't finished. On a short trip to Seattle to visit her teammates, Megan was diagnosed with a stage three stress fracture
and was advised to stay off her feet for 12 weeks. With her daily outlet taken away from her, Goethals faced a brief existential crisis, effectively quitting the UW Huskies, not sure she would run competitively again. But after facing her demons for a few weeks, she emerged determined to make a full and speedy recovery. Now, just months after being diagnosed with a severe stress fracture, Goethals led the Husky women to a 17th place finish at NCAAs. At the end of the day however, she has taken away much more than that: perspective on the important things in life.