About this episode

Olivier Duhaime shares his inspiring journey of overcoming cancer and returning to marathon training for the Ottawa Marathon.

For his entire adult life, Olivier Duhaime has been no stranger to taking on hard challenges. Running his first marathon at just 18 years old proved a gateway into endurance sport that would see the Gatineau native tackle events from ironmans to ultramarathons and even a multi-day cross-province run from Quebec City to Ottawa. But when a shock cancer diagnosis in late 2021 put a pause to his endurance-sport lifestyle, it presented a test of perseverance unlike any he’d faced before. From training everyday to barely able to get out of bed, Olivier was faced with a mountain to climb that dwarfed even his longest trail ultras. But from a lifetime spent pushing his body to do the impossible he knew that at rock bottom there’s nowhere to go but up, and after 51 rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, he emerged from a years-long battle cancer free. Next week, Olivier will make his long-anticipated return to a marathon starting line close to home at the Tamarack Homes Ottawa International Marathon, where he’ll be toeing the line in support the Ottawa Hospital Foundation whose care helped save his life. Olivier joins The Shakeout Podcast to share his journey of recovery and…

People in this episode

Host: David Stol

Guest: Olivier Duhaime

Topics covered

• cancer recovery
• marathon training
• endurance sports
• personal journey
• fundraising
• healthcare

Keywords

• cancer survivor
• marathon
• Ottawa Marathon
• endurance sports
• chemotherapy
• fundraising
• personal story

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ottawa Hospital Foundation

Places: Gatineau, Quebec City, Ottawa

More episodes of The Shakeout Podcast

• Evan Jager: An Olympic medallist, a Swedish startup and the super supplement that's sweeping endurance sport · June 4, 2026 · 59 min
• Debriefing the debut: My post-marathon recap with Coach Jonathan Green · May 28, 2026 · 1h 1m
• After the marathon: How to recover like a Pro ft. Rory Linkletter and Jacob Thomson · May 10, 2026 · 45 min

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