Billings author conquers cancer, half marathon

At least eight other people were running along with Tony Hines as the 43-year-old cancer survivor tackled his first half-marathon on Sunday.

They were there in name only, listed on a sheet of paper Hines carried in a pocket. They were the ones who are now dead. They were the other people with cancer that Hines has met since his diagnosis in 2007 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a deadly form of cancer that attacks the lymph nodes.

"There's a way that it can change you positively, and I think the running is something positive I can point to because before that I never thought about running for one minute," Hines said.

The new half-marathon runner was one of an estimated 986 participants in Sunday's rainy Montana Governor's Cup, which included a marathon, half-marathon, 10K and relay team races.

Hines weighs about 270 pounds. That's 40 pounds less than when he vowed to get in better shape after his cancer went into remission in January 2008. And its about 713 miles run since he decided to begin training seriously about a year ago, surprising those who know him and himself.

"When you see me the first thing you won't think is 'Boy, he looks like a marathon runner.' The first thing you'll think is 'he looks like a donut runner,'" Hines said.

When Hines was diagnosed with cancer after a routine checkup, the Billings author brought the same kind of humor to his battle for survival.

His blogs about his experience - called The Lymphoma Files - attracted an online following. Written in a wry voice, the short posts are leavened with comedy, horror and fear facing those that must navigate a medical condition with a low survival rate.

"I was diagnosed one month before my 41st birthday," Hines said. "When you turn 40 you think: in all likelihood I've lived over half of my life. Then you have cancer and you think: I may have lived most of my life."

And then, Hines said, you think: I might not see my daughter become a teenager.

As he rode the shuttle out to the start line on Sunday, Hines had much smaller worries. He was afraid he might peter out at about mile No. 10, or crash to the ground just a few feet from the finish line. He wasn't sure how much water and sport liquids to drink along the way. He couldn't decide if or when he should take medicine to combat a chest cold that he's been fighting.

He was just one of many runners who sat taut with nervous energy and anxious thoughts aboard the school bus on the way to the start line. But Hines sat there with a goal that went far beyond finishing or winning.

"Running has always been really my nemesis, so somehow conquering that is like conquering cancer," Hines said.

At the finish line, when he loped easily through the runner's chute with a time of 2:52:57, Hines was quickly surrounded by family. His daughter, Jillian, who is not yet a teenager but on her way at 11 years old, waited, holding a handmade sign. Nancy, her mother, cried. And Jillian's grandparents from both sides offered congratulations.

Everyone would be attending a celebratory barbeque with many friends later in the day.

"It's just a lot of people who are glad that he's here," said Nancy Hines.

Contact Kahrin Deines at Kdeines@billingsgazette.com or 657-1392.