BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – This weekend, hundreds of athletes will converge on the Bismarck Community Bowl for the state track meet, which is one of the biggest high school events every year in the state. Before the gun ever goes off on Thursday, Bismarck High’s Dash Ohlsen will have already reached a milestone that means more than any podium finish.
“I know that little me would be proud of where I’ve made it,” Dash said.
No matter the end result, Dash knows the most important finish line is already far behind him.
“It gives me a different viewpoint on a lot of things, especially with track,” Dash said. “That’s where a lot of my motivation comes from, because there was a point in my life where what I’m doing now seemed pretty much impossible.”
Wednesday marks the eight-year anniversary of Dash’s best day ever.
“There was tears,” Dash’s dad, Taner, said. “There was cheers. The whole place erupted.”
It’s the day Dash rang the bell and took his final chemotherapy treatment.
“You worried about the worst, and then he beats it,” Taner said.
Dash was seven years old when normal aches and pains led to a doctor’s visit, but no one could’ve imagined what came next.
“At that point, I didn’t even know what cancer was,” Dash said. “I couldn’t comprehend what was really going on.”
A battle with Leukemia lasted three-and-a-half years, which spanned most of the time that he was in elementary school.
“At a certain point, they put it on a calendar— this is your last day,” Taner explained.
Through it all, Dash continued to play sports like soccer and baseball and never allowed cancer to get in the way.
“At one point during his treatment early on, he couldn’t walk. So now, to see him out running and running fast and being one of the best, it just totally blows my mind,” Dash’s mom, Kara, said. “He amazes me.”
This week, Dash prepares to run his final races in high school with pride.
“I think that it’s more than just winning gold in every event,” Dash said. “I think it’s also about inspiring other people.”
He’s looking to pass the baton of hope to others running the same race that he has already won.
“I want them to know that there is an end,” Dash said. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Dash will run track next year at the University of North Dakota.
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