This is a sports site, and as such, most of what we do is write about something we just watched\u2014a football game, a girls’ volleyball match (occasionally even a cross country meet). <\/span>But, as our feature writer Brian Baiotto once pointed out to me, even the most dedicated student-athlete only spends about a third of their time practicing or playing a sport. <\/span>What they do with the rest of their life is what shapes them into who they are, and who they are on the playing field as well.<\/p>\n It doesn’t take more than a glance at the photos below to know what kind of a competitor Tyler Noesen is. <\/span>Noesen graduated from Poly in 1999, after helping lead the Poly cross country program to three consecutive team CIF titles; he also ran track, played a little soccer, and was a near-4.0 student. <\/span>After graduation, he attended Cal, where he was on the Golden Bears’ XC and track teams, and earned Academic All-American honors. <\/span><\/p>\n Three years ago, while playing soccer, he felt a pain in his abdomen. <\/span>He visited his doctor, where they found a grapefruit-sized cyst, that had already metastasized. <\/span>Noesen was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest (and least-researched) forms of cancer. <\/span>The average life expectancy for people suffering from PC is between six months and a year, which is how long Noesen was told he had to live.<\/p>\n Last weekend, joined by a large supporting cast known as Team Tyler, Noesen completed the 5K at the LA Cancer Challenge. <\/span>Over three years after his diagnosis, he completed a 5K<\/em>\u2014and was the only person with pancreatic cancer to do so that day. <\/span>With that kind of drive, and determination, it’s no wonder he’s joined by so many friends, as the Poly boys’ and girls’ cross country teams ran with him, along with the Jackrabbit coaches, and some of Noesen’s teammates from Cal. <\/span>With Noesen’s record and that supporting cast, it’s also no surprise to hear that it was the fourth consecutive title for Team Tyler\u2014especially given that Shannon Rowbury, a US Olympian, is among those supporting the effort.<\/span><\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/i304.photobucket.com\/albums\/nn191\/LBPOSTphotos\/TyleratStart.jpg\")
![](\"http:\/\/i304.photobucket.com\/albums\/nn191\/LBPOSTphotos\/Tyleratfinish.jpg\")
![](\"http:\/\/i304.photobucket.com\/albums\/nn191\/LBPOSTphotos\/TylerwithPolyBoysandGirls.jpg\")
![](\"http:\/\/i304.photobucket.com\/albums\/nn191\/LBPOSTphotos\/TylerwithPolyGirls.jpg\")
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