Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds is an accomplished Ironman triathlete and marathon runner who has completed 15 marathons, including four New York City Marathons, and numerous triathlons culminating in Ironman Florida.
In 2022, at age 55 and in peak physical condition, Dr. Reynolds was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Following successful surgery, he returned to running and completed the 2022 New York City Marathon as a comeback race.
But in 2023, he faced a second, more serious diagnosis of Stage 3B colorectal cancer, completing an extensive radiation and chemotherapy regimen as part of a clinical trial in March 2024.
Drawing from his unique intersection of athletic achievement, nonprofit leadership, and cancer survivorship, Dr. Reynolds authored the book, Every Mile Matters: Turning Triathlon Training Into Cancer Triumph. This raw, motivational memoir explores how the discipline, mental toughness, and resilience developed through endurance sports training became essential tools for navigating cancer treatment and recovery.
Every mile matters, every moment counts, and every challenge presents an opportunity for transformation.
Here, Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds shares his story, his hard-earned lessons, and the process of becoming a self-published author with selfpublishing.com’s Author Advantage Accelerator Elite program.
Book Title: Every Mile Matters: Turning Triathlon Training Into Cancer Triumph
Genre: Motivational Memoir
Website: everymilematters.com

Tell us a little bit about why you wrote this memoir, and why people should read it.
For years, I thought triathlons and marathons were just about crossing finish lines as quickly as possible. I was wrong.
When cancer struck not once, but twice, I discovered that every early morning swim, every grueling bike ride, every step of every run had been preparing me for the race of my life.
The mental toughness forged in training, the community built through shared struggle, the discipline of showing up when you don’t feel like it; these weren’t just athletic skills. They were survival tools.
Every Mile Matters is the story of how preparing for one challenge unknowingly equipped me for another I never saw coming. And how that challenge prepared me for a life beyond my wildest dreams.
Thankfully, I’ve survived cancer twice, and I can share my story, so I did.
Who did you write Every Mile Matters for?
This book is for anyone who has ever:
- Wondered if they have what it takes to face life’s inevitable challenges
- Questioned whether their struggles serve any purpose
- Sought strength in physical or mental training
- Faced a life-changing medical diagnosis
- Supported someone through medical treatment
- Believed that community makes the impossible possible
- Discovered meaning in unexpected places
What are the top 3 lessons someone will learn from your story?
In my own experience, I transformed a devastating double cancer diagnosis into an inspiring testament to human resilience. What could have been a story of defeat became one of triumph, so ultimately what a reader will learn is how to do the same.
Here are three specific lessons my story will show others:
1. Trust Your Training: Preparation Creates Resilience
The discipline, consistency, and mental toughness you develop through endurance training becomes invaluable when facing life’s greatest challenges. Just as countless hours of swimming, biking, and running can prepare you for Ironman Florida, decades of navigating difficult situations in nonprofit work and pushing through uncomfortable training sessions can build the resilience you need for cancer treatment.
The ability to embrace discomfort, maintain focus during dark moments, and keep moving forward—whether it’s mile 18 of a marathon or the sixth round of chemotherapy—comes from having “trained in the dark” long before you need to “shine in the light.”
2. Vulnerability Is Strength, Not Weakness
Cancer strips away the armor of self-sufficiency and forces authentic vulnerability, which paradoxically becomes a source of tremendous strength.
Your journey from being the helper to needing help, from maintaining control to surrendering to treatment protocols, and from projecting invincibility to openly sharing your fears created deeper connections with others and more genuine leadership.
This vulnerability—whether crying uncontrollably during treatment or asking for support—isn’t a sign of weakness but rather the courage to be seen in your complete humanity, which ultimately makes you more effective in serving others.
3. Every Challenge Contains the Seeds of Transformation
Rather than simply surviving cancer or returning to your pre-diagnosis life, you can choose to use the experience as a catalyst for becoming a better version of yourself. The disease forces you to examine what truly matters, deepen relationships, practice gratitude, and live with greater intentionality. Cancer doesn’t just take things away—it gives you enhanced empathy, spiritual growth, clearer priorities, and a more authentic way of being in the world.
This transformation mindset turns life’s most difficult moments into opportunities for unprecedented personal growth and more meaningful impact on others.
What was the process of turning your experiences into a book?
Like most books, this one took longer than I originally planned, largely because writing the book was therapeutic and I needed to process some of what I was feeling and then capture it in an accurate way. I wrote some of the book while having chemo infusions and sitting in doctor’s offices, some as I was starting to feel better, and some while on safari in South Africa.
Reliving some of the more challenging moments in my cancer journey, processing them, and then sharing that authentically with the reader was the hardest part. Writing while I was sick was challenging, too, but as you will read in the book:
Doing hard things prepares you for hard things.
All in all, the entire journey was healing, uplifting, and gave me purpose.
What are your plans for the future?
To get Every Mile Matters and its messages into as many hands as possible. I’ve already received dozens of speaking requests, and I look forward to sharing my story on each of them. Stay tuned!
Inspired by his story? Follow Jeffrey on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, or visit him online at everymilematters.com.
Has Jeffrey’s story inspired you to share your own? Learn more about the book writing support, editing services, book coaching, and more he received as a part of the Author Advantage Accelerator Elite Program: Schedule a consultation today to find the right program for you and your book!
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