A mission in September.
Jennifer Palmer has made the most extraordinary comeback.
The 21-year-old University of Otago student was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in April last year.
She had two types of chemotherapy and treatment continued up until early November.
In May, and on her 21st birthday, she got the best news a cancer patient can get - she was in full remission.
And on Sunday she will attempt her first marathon when she joins 2000-plus other competitors in the 41st edition of the Dunedin Marathon event.
Told you it was an extraordinary comeback.
But Palmer is not doing it just for herself. She is hoping to raise $2500. The money will go towards funding a full scholarship for a young person who has been affected by cancer to go on a voyage on board the Spirit of New Zealand.
"It came out of myself being a cancer patient all of last year," she said.
"I only got a full remission classification in May, although no treatment since last year, which is why the marathon is possible.
"I'm also a volunteer of the [Spirit of Adventure Trust] as well, which is where the idea originated."
Palmer "did a little bit of running for fun" before her life-changing diagnosis.
She competed in "a couple of half marathons", including the Dunedin half-marathon. But Sunday will mark her first attempt to run 42.2km.
"I'm confident I can finish. My biggest concern is the time limit because there is a six-hour maximum.
"I'm tracking on training to run it in about five-and-a-half."
The Dunedin Marathon has proven popular this year. Online entries closed on Wednesday, and Dunedin Marathon Committee chairwoman Maria Sleeman said it had attracted 2283.
That is the second-most entries in the event's history, and the record (2369 in 2009) may still be in reach.
Sleeman said it was not uncommon to receive up to 100 late entries.
Sleeman put the upsurge in interest down to a couple of factors.
"We've sort of remodelled a little bit.
"Everyone finishes in the stadium now instead of at Watson Park and for the first time we've introduced the 5km.
"We are trying to make it an event that everybody can participate in."
Only about 10% of the people who enter the event run in the full marathon.
