Honor an aspiring woman in your life or help aspiring women with financial need to achieve their educational goals by making a donation towards Khit's Blessons Scholarships for Women Fundraiser.

You may donate through PayBal by clicking the yellow button below, via Chase QuickPay by sending to info@blessons.org or by mailing a check to 405 N. Wabash Ave Suite 2006 Chicago, IL 60611

Why I Run

Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone. I don’t want to inspire others by being perfect. My name is Khit Masoud and I want to inspire women by how I deal with my imperfections.
I use a word called “BLESSONS”, A blesson is what happens when you see the blessing in the lesson that your challenge taught you. We all have a story, we all have our own demons, we all have our own issues and fears. Not everyone has the emotional support from their loved ones when you think you need it most. You have to learn how to survive because when you know that you are all that you have, being STRONG is the only thing you can be.

I always wanted to make a difference and teach women like my mother who I would see depressed as she raised 7 children at home as her only duty in life. I ran away from home at 16 where I was born and raised in Northern California. I took my family to court, was legally emancipated in 1998. I wanted to be free to go to college, make something of myself that wasn’t cleaning, cooking and raising children as my only options in life. As the oldest of 7, it was really hard to take this risk of never seeing or speaking to any of my family members once I brought shame to the family. By sharing my story with the world that I can leave home at 16, finish high school while working two jobs, living on my own and getting into college to make something of myself without depending on a man to support me, was one of my biggest goals.
Life’s challenges have taught me what it’s like to have slept in my car, slept on floors at friend’s homes, lived off 29 cents hamburgers and top ramen to survive those tough lessons. After trying the first few years in college, I eventually couldn’t keep up with my grades to maintain the financial aid for school in completing my first Bachelor’s degree. Since then, I have been working on my first Bachelor’s degree while making it through life on my own with no family support. I have always wanted to finish my college education.

I ran away from home at 16 where I was born and raised in Northern California. I took my family to court, was legally emancipated in 1998 to avoid an arranged marriage to my first cousin. At 26, 10 years after running away from home, I was diagnosed with a very rare cancer called Vulvar Cancer caused by HPV. Back then in 2006, HPV was very new. Not much research was done and the only thing we knew was that my body and my immune system couldn’t fight off these strands.

In 2007, I had several surgeries and treatments to fight off the cancer. I went through cancer on my own. I have had to do what I needed to do to survive and was not ashamed of the choices that were made to survive. When I came to Chicago in 2007, after all my surgeries, I wanted to start over.

While bartending full time in 2012, I started volunteering at a NFP organization that provided 1-on-1 cancer support. Through that organization, I learned how to make a difference by using my legs and started running for charity and now I was the force behind building this organization’s charity running team. I learned that the power of healing by sharing my stories, my experiences, my BLESSONS would also help me make peace of my lessons and to view the blessings that those challenges has taught me. I was able to make a difference for so many cancer fighters, survivors and caregivers because no one should have to face cancer on their own like I did.

Since November 2015, my cancer check- ups started to come back with positive cancer cells again. My doctors are always trying to help me reduce the stress in my life because my body just doesn’t take it well, and I believe the cancer in my body feeds off of it so easily. That’s why I run.

I run for many things, but mostly to reduce stress while making a difference. Since 2011, I have completed 99 races including 4 Bank of America Chicago Marathons’,2015 TCS NYC Marathon, 2016 Sketchers LA Marathon, 2016 Boston Marathon while fundraising for charity. I’ve raised over $99,000 to date since my first out of state half marathon in NYC 2012.

Soon after the 2016 LA Marathon, I had another biopsy and learned within a week that I have been diagnosed again with cancer. That year I promised myself that I would truly LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST. I became an ambassador for the Abbott World Marathon Majors in March 2016 in addition to the Community Ambassador for the Chicago Marathon/Shamrock Shuffle.

I want to inspire and motivate all levels of runners and show them that running is FUN through all these experiences.  I don’t know what will happen to me tomorrow or even today so I choose to enjoy every moment of a race and take in everything that’s around me. I even started to post on social media about what I’m grateful for during the marathon as I’m running it!! While running the 2016 Boston Marathon, I dedicated every mile of the marathon with pictures and posted to Facebook as I crossed each mile marker. It kept reminding me why I started this mission in the first place each time I wanted to give up.

Taking care of your health first is something that I have been working on for years. My mental health depends on the endorphins that running feeds me being a pacer for the largest Chicago Marathon group training program just takes me to another level of RUNNER’S HIGH! I was asked to become one of the official pacers on the NIKE Pace Team for The Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 9th, 2016. The only drug that I know of that cures everything in my opinion and including mental illness and cancer, is my love for the sport of running. Staying on top of my health while battling cancer again with the help of my doctors at NWH including my Sports Medicine Foot & Ankle doctor, Dr. Chin at The Running Institute here in Chicago, is what keeps me in a positive mindset non-stop and injury free. To be able to help other runners of all levels as their pacer accomplish their goals, is one of the most rewarding feeling I have ever experienced. I’m dedicating my 12th marathon at the 2017 Virgin London Marathon, where I will receive the Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star Finishers Medal, to Blessons Scholarships for Women!

Thank you for supporting our mission in empowering women through education!
Khit Masoud - Cancer Warrior

My Races

Berlin Marathon
September 25, 2016

Chicago Marathon
October 9, 2016

NYC Marathon
November 6, 2016

Houston Half Marathon
January 15, 2017

Tokyo Marathon
February 26, 2017

London Marathon
April 23, 2017