It's the last week of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I'm leaving you with a woman who traded pink ribbons for a bare chest and a race bib.

Katie Leonard, 44, carries a CHEK2 mutation that doubled her lifetime breast cancer risk, in a family where the disease goes back four generations. In 2023 she had a preventive double mastectomy and chose to go flat. Since June she has been running topless, usually with her 13-year-old son beside her, including the Twin Cities 10 Mile earlier this month.

When I interviewed Katie from my most recent nomad spot in Mexico, she shared a funny story with me via phone. When a man yelled that she couldn't be out there without a shirt, she had a reply ready. (It involves nipples: his, and her lack of them.)

Her family never talked about their cancer. She wants her daughter to grow up knowing she can.

My first story for ReWire News Group, is here:

https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2026/10/28/going-flat-double-mastectomy-runner/