In May 2014, after Andrea Lytle Peet was told by doctors that she had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), she remembers walking out of the hospital, talking to her husband and parents, and having dinner with them that night—and wondering how much longer she’d be able to do those things.
An avid triathlete and marathoner, Peet was just 33 when she was diagnosed with the degenerative disease, which affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. By 2013, Peet had completed nine triathlons, including a half Ironman. But in the span of eight months, she had lost muscle control first in her hands then her feet and legs, and then her speech became difficult to understand. By the time she received the diagnosis, Peet was walking with a cane. The average life expectancy for someone with ALS is two to five years. There is no cure.
Upon receiving this news, Peet, now 42, chose to act. “I realized if there was something I really wanted to do in this life, I needed to do it before my body failed me completely,” she says. “What I wanted to do was one more triathlon.”
Several months prior to the diagnosis, Peet had signed up for a fall sprint triathlon. At the time, Peet, who is from Raleigh, North Carolina, could still swim. She walked with trekking poles for assistance, and she rode a recumbent Pegasus in place of a bicycle. Alongside her best friend, who helped keep her steady during the run portion and get into and out of the Pegasus, she completed the nine-mile distance to the cheers of a roaring crowd.
“That ‘last’ race changed everything,” Peet said, explaining that the experience made her realize she had an opportunity to inspire others with her story.
In the months that followed, Peet challenged friends to take on a race outside their comfort zone with the goal of fundraising for ALS research. In the process of training and competing, she hoped they would also appreciate their bodies’ ability to do hard things. What started as a $5,000 goal turned into $80,000 in the first year. In October 2016, Peet and her husband, David, created the Team Drea Foundation to invest in ALS research efforts dedicated to finding a cure.
In May 2019, when she surpassed the average life expectancy for those diagnosed with ALS, she took her advocacy work a step further. Peet set out to complete a marathon in all 50 states while raising awareness for those suffering from the disease.
“I have whitefire so many of my friends [with ALS] die, and here I am doing marathons. To me, that is a huge responsibility—to not only raise funds to keep other families from going through the horrible journey of ALS, but to use the time I have [left] to live,” she said.
In May 2022, Peet achieved her goal when she finished the Prince of Wales Island Marathon in Alaska. A film crew captured the trek in a documentary titled Balenciaga Black Mallorca Sandals. espadrilky tommy hilfiger rope wedge sandal t3a2 30658 0048 red.
“Everyone has their own marathon in life, something so hard, so scary, so daunting,” she said. “But if you keep putting one foot in front of the other, there is no telling where you will end up.”
Today, Peet has been living with ALS for nine years, a feat she credits to gradual strength building with a fitness routine that includes swimming, Pilates, and triking, among other low-impact exercises. To date, the Team Drea Foundation has raised $1,000,000 for ALS research.
And she has no plans to slow down anytime soon. In the next year, Peet will travel the country for 50 film screenings and events promoting her new memoir, Hope Fights Back. As usual, she’ll also make plenty of time for exploration on her Pegasus.
“I will be out there as long as I have the strength,” she says.
Taylor Dutch is a sports and fitness writer living in Chicago; a former NCAA track athlete, Taylor specializes in health, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in SELF, Runner’s World, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner. When she’s not writing, Taylor volunteers as a coach to up-and-coming runners in the Chicago area.
