Woman Diagnosed with Cancer Ahead of Running NYC Marathon (Exclusive) [Video]

A few months after running the TCS New York City Marathon in 2023, Lee Anne Barnes started training for 2024 races. But something felt different to the elementary school music teacher.

In June, she noticed her energy level had dipped so low that she couldn’t run at all. It was an unusual feeling for someone who started running recreationally in 2008.

“I was kind of beating myself up over it,” Lee Anne, 59, tells PEOPLE. “I was like, ‘I know I’m getting old but this is ridiculous.’”

She went to the doctor for blood work, and on July 5 was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

“Bottom line: Running saved her life because it let her know that something was wrong,” says her husband, Os Barnes.