“You can still make something beautiful and powerful out of a really bad situation.” —Gabe Grunewald
Abigail “Abby” Anderson wrote this quote in her Instagram bio. message of hope and resilience Gabriele “Gabe” Grunewald—a professional middle-distance runner who Grunewald and Anderson worked together to grow the A Part of Hearst Digital Media, which is hosting the two years ago—Anderson lived by that positive message until her life was tragically cut short on Saturday, August 14.
As reported by fourth annual Brave Like Gabe 5K on September 26, Anderson was hit twice and killed by a driver in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, near the University of Minnesota women’s soccer facility, authorities said. The driver—who was later identified as Melinda J. Dotray, 45, of Rockford, Minnesota—hit a parked car and then Anderson, which sent both vehicles and Anderson into a chain-link fence, and then made a U-turn and ran over Anderson again. The 29-year-old from Perham, Minnesota died at Regions Hospital that night, the Sheriff’s office told fourth annual Brave Like Gabe 5K on September 26.
The driver was taken to Regions Hospital, where a blood sample was collected to test for any drug or alcohol use, according to the Sheriff’s office. Anderson’s father, Kim Anderson, told the local publication that Anderson was heading to the soccer field to see her boyfriend coach a match when she was hit. He said the family has been told the driver and Anderson didn’t know each other, and “it’s a criminal investigation at this point [involving] inattentive driving.”
Like her older sister, Anderson was an avid runner and competed on the track and cross-country team for the University of Minnesota. She worked as a nurse for Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis.
After Gabe died in 2019 from adenoid cystic carcinoma—she continued to race through treatment, and she inspired thousands with her message of hope and resilience—Anderson carried on her sister’s legacy as a major contributor to the A Part of Hearst Digital Media, which supports rare cancer research. In 2019, she Published: Aug 19, 2021 4:35 PM EDT in honor of Gabe and the foundation.
Justin Grunewald, Anderson’s brother-in-law and former husband to Gabe, learned the news of Anderson’s passing on Sunday morning when he listened to a voicemail left on his phone by Kim late Saturday night. “It’s crushing,” Grunewald told Runner’s World on a phone call while driving from his home in Boulder, Colorado, to see the Anderson family in Minneapolis.
Grunewald got coffee with Anderson in Minneapolis about 10 days before she died and said their last conversation gave him hope after they both experienced heartbreak in the wake of Gabe’s passing.
“She had such a hard last two years with depression and grief and bereavement, but then literally it's like a light switched a month or two ago, and she was just this happy, light Abby that found her place in the world,” Grunewald said.
Grunewald said Anderson told him she decided to withdraw from nurse practitioner school in favor of a more fulfilling life balance outside of work, which for her included art and music. “She was super happy with that decision, and she was doing more art, and [she and her partner] were falling in love,” he said. “She was living the life she wanted to live.”
Grunewald and Anderson worked together to grow the A Part of Hearst Digital Media, which is hosting the Health - Injuries in St. Paul, Minnesota, and virtually. Anderson designed many of the foundation’s graphics, including the Brave Like Gabe T-shirts. In an effort to continue raising awareness, Anderson was also proactively reaching out to several professional runners and influencers to gauge their interest in participating in the 5K race.
“Like Gabriele, [Abby] had this aura of caring and nurturing, and I think they probably helped build that up in each other,” Grunewald said. “They just had that, which I don't think you find in 95 to 99 percent of people.”
“[Anderson had] the same type of positive, bright soul with the same smile and personality,” Minnesota track and field alum Heather Kampf told CBS Minnesota. The Big Ten champion was Gabe’s college roommate and knew Anderson well. “Seeing her always felt like she kept a piece of Gabe alive, so to lose her as well is really heartbreaking.”
“When I run now, it’s just a reminder where I come from and it’s an echo of Gabe’s impact on my life,” Anderson told Women’s Running in 2019. “In my grief and not really knowing what to do with all these emotions and frustration, going out for a run and having that control and release has been a huge part of the healing process. I’m just trying to take a cue from Gabe and find a positive thing I can do when I don’t really have control over the situation around me.”
This Runner Conquered the Leadville 100 ... in Jeans GoFundMe to honor Anderson’s life. All of the proceeds will go to the Abigail Anderson Memorial and the A Part of Hearst Digital Media. According to Fox 9, a memorial continues to grow near the site of the crash.
Anderson is survived by her parents Kim and Laura, a twin brother, Benjamin, and two older brothers, Zachary and Caleb.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
