Art of Aging: Philadelphia's Rock N' Roll Half Marathon

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- One local runner has a stake in Philadelphia's Rock N' Roll Half Marathon next Saturday that raises money for cancer research.

Jim Newton has been running for 38 years and in that time, he's covered a lot of ground.

I've run 17 marathons, about 15-20 half marathons, dozens of 10ks, dozens of 5ks." said Jim.

He started when he was in his 20s to lose weight, but now having just celebrated his 66th birthday, his goals are bigger.

"One of my goals is to run 50 half marathons, one in each state. I want to be the oldest person to finish a marathon and right now that's 100, so I've got 35 more years to go before I can do that," said Jim.

Last spring, his shoulder was hurting and he found a bulging lump in his neck so he went to his doctor.

"The whole area was infested with what's called mantle cell lymphoma," said Jim.

Otherwise known as MCL, it's a rare blood cancer found mostly in men over the age of 60.

Jim took part in a clinical treatment trial at Penn and within months was cancer free.

"I was going to beat it. I knew I was going to beat it," he said.

Even while undergoing treatment, he never stopped running.

"It's what I do. It's my hobby. I'm certainly not going to let a little cancer get in the way," added Jim.

Next weekend, he will be running Philadelphia's Rock N' Roll Half Marathon with the Runners for Research Team to raise money for the American Association for Cancer Research.

His advice to others battling the disease? "Don't let cancer get you down. It's just another battle, another obstruction in life and just keep plugging along," he said.

It's a lesson for cancer and for life.

I'm to the point now where some of the marathons, I'm the last one finishing on the line, but I finish," said Jim.

For more information, visit the Rock N' Roll Half Marathon website.