As Veteran's Day approaches, we look to those who have gone before us. Lynda "Sunny" Fox is one of those veterans.

Sunny is a motivated, energetic woman. Whenever she talks, she is excited to share her story. Her face brightens up and her smile shines like the sun. Her house is full of memorabilia from the time she and her husband served in the Navy. Her walls are full of pictures of all the accomplishments and significant milestones she achieved. On her table sits more than 100 challenge coins in various sizes and shapes. Upstairs, in her custom embroidery shop, the wall is lined with hundreds of multi-colored U.S. Navy submarine patches, a collection her husband accrued from his time as a submariner.

In her off time, she designs all sorts of embroideries for clothes and blankets for various customers, which mostly consist of chief insignias, but that's not what makes her special.

Fox served in the Navy for 21 years and retired as a master chief storekeeper in 1995. She continues her involvement in the military after retirement by working with the Maury High School Junior ROTC for the last 12 years.

In 2006, her life took a turn. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer one year after her husband was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, and they were often at the hospital at the same time going through treatments.

"When I was first told I had cancer, I wondered if I could run again or do sports," she said. "Would my life change?"

Sunny was told if she was going to have cancer, thyroid cancer is the most curable, so she took that as good news and ran with it. She refused to let the diagnosis stop her.

"I think right after I was diagnosed with cancer in 2006, I must have fallen on my head and said, 'I'm going to run 1,000 races before I kick the bucket,'" she said. "I had probably almost 100 races when I said 'I'm going to do this,' not realizing how many miles a thousand races equates to or how expensive it is, either."

Sunny beat cancer within two years of being diagnosed, and she still keeps running strong. She continues to run in every race she is capable of competing in.

To her, giving back to the community is the most important part of running these races. She said pushing people who can't walk or talk and trying to get a little smile out of them is very rewarding, and is a big part of why she continues to run. Her former neighbor's son, Hunter, 20, has brain cancer and wasn't given very long to live.

Whenever she gets a chance, she brings Hunter to the races, bundles him up in warm clothes during the cold weather, and pushes him in a racing chair from the beginning to end.

"My quality of life, even after cancer, it's not great," she said. "I'll never be 100 percent, but I'm still 20 times more capable or able than they are, and I've got to be thankful for that. I'm thankful that I can still run, drive, and go help people. I've still got leadership left in me that I can teach JROTC cadets; I'm thankful that I can still do it."

She said since the Navy trained her to be a chief and gave her all the leadership experience that comes with it, she couldn't just stop after retirement.

"A chief is a chief is a chief," she said. "If you can do something, then do something to help others. Giving back to the community should be one of your top priorities. If I'm able, I'm gong to keep on keeping on."

Sunny has completed 897 races so far, and is well on her way to completing 1,000 races before the end of 2017.

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For more news from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), visit www.navy.mil/.