A former Sparksville man who has run in seven Boston Marathons recently took on a different kind of challenge — overcoming esophageal cancer.

That battle, which began for 59-year-old Terry Marcott seven months ago, involved all of the traditional treatment methods, including radiation and chemotherapy.

“And I had surgery in July,” Marcott said Saturday morning after finishing up the 5K run/walk during the seventh annual HOPE Medora Goes Pink breast cancer awareness event.

The surgeries and treatments weakened him, but he’s now cancer-free and not slowing down much, Marcott said.

His struggle with the disease kept the Dallas, Texas, resident from running in this year’s 5K run/walk but didn’t stop him from participating.

Marcott first ran in the Boston Marathon in 1988 and finished 492nd out of 7,000 runners. In 1989, he finished 143rd out of 10,000 runners. He lived in Brownstown at that time.

Debra Wayman, the founder of HOPE Medora Goes Pink, recognized the 1975 Medora High School graduate with the HOPE Spirit Award.

Wayman said Marcott epitomizes the spirit of the event in part because he and many others helped her and her daughter, Deven Wayman-Shirley, establish HOPE Medora Goes Pink and have consistently stayed involved in the event.

She said he is just like the rest of us who are on a journey that has taken him down an unknown path and then another door opens.