"[The Gillespies] are people that come into your life every once in a while, if you're lucky, that really make a difference on how you see yourself and others."
Before the 2012 CrossFit Games Open was over, Molly Gillespie sent a letter to CrossFit HQ nominating her husband, Jason, for the inaugural Spirit of the Open award. It became obvious, however, this is not just a story about the spirit of one person; it’s about the spirit of a couple.
Molly tried for two years to get her husband, described as an “average American with bad eating habits and no exercise,” to start CrossFitting. With the closest CrossFit affiliate being 40 miles away, and a back condition called Spondylolisthesis (which caused extreme pain), Jason had some valid excuses for the uphill battle he faced. Instead of giving in to those obstacles, Molly opened CrossFit XLR8 in 2009. With one obstacle taken care of, Jason started CrossFit and within a year he flourished - without any back pain - along with Molly’s CrossFit affiliate.
Molly quickly developed a reputation as “a very special owner, coach, athlete, businesswoman and, above all, human being.” Ryan Kelley, a coach at CrossFit XLR8, says Molly changed his life. “Molly had the confidence and faith in me to allow me to begin coaching in her affiliate when I was a relatively new CrossFitter,” he says.
Molly has not only good business sense, but a sixth sense to match it. Kelley is not the only one she took a chance on. After training in his garage for a few years, Zeph Littleton tried out CrossFit XLR8 and Molly paid for him to get his Level 1 Seminar so he could begin coaching full time. “[The Gillespies] are truly amazing individuals and they trusted me when I needed it most,” Littleton says.
“They are people that come into your life every once in a great while, if you’re lucky, that really make a difference on how you see yourself and others,” Kelley adds.
The Gillespies overcame every obstacle in their path, but the biggest obstacle was still to come. On February 2nd, 2011, Jason was diagnosed with Stage 4, Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the base of the tongue.
The cure for this disease is usually so taxing, the individual does not survive the treatment. Within six weeks, Jason went from 204 to 148 pounds and for eight weeks he was in and out of isolation at the hospital.
“CrossFit is what prepared him to fight for his life,” Molly says.
Jason fought a war but Molly, his two children, and CrossFit XLR8 armed him for the fight ahead. Jason calls this “the toughest WOD he has ever had to complete.”
One year later and things have changed at CrossFitXLR8 once again. “At the end of September, I got the best news of my life. I could start CrossFitting again. Oh yeah, no cancer too.”
He is cancer-free, his weight is back up to 185, and he is destroying his old workout times. “Jason is one of the most inspirational people I have ever known,” Littleton says.
For the Gillespies, CrossFit is their passion, not their business. They did much more than establish a CrossFit affiliate; they built friendships, a foundation for health and a family of 200 members growing strong.
