Richard Brodsky, 56, ran a marathon a year after finding out he had brain cancer. He still runs with his wife, Jodi, right. (Christian Hansen/New York Times)

There’s a new face to chronic illness and I’ve talked about it before on my blog. It was fibromyalgia, after all, that forced me to start exercising and put muscle in places I didn’t know muscles could develop. So what if you were battling chronic illness but in the best shape of your life?

A new NY Times article looks at others suffering from chronic illness who are coping by whipping themselves into shape: “Disease Invades a Body, and Endorphins Kick In”