TAMPA, Fla. — A Bay area runner living with cystic fibrosis is training for his third marathon. For this athlete, the sport represents a double-edged sword.

“Exercise is obviously very good for your lung health, for your aerobic health, so it’s a good thing to do,” said Ryan Matthews. “And it’s something that they’ve always recommended growing up as, like you should stay as active as possible, but at the same time being a lung disease, it makes it harder to run because it’s harder to breathe.”

Matthews was born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that devastates the lungs and other organs. But it isn’t slowing down this athlete. He ran his first marathon in 2024 to mark his 30th birthday.

“People can kind of put you in a box and say like this is how you should feel, or this is what your life is going to be like with this disease,” said Matthews. “And so for me, it’s really important just to show people what is possible.”

As part of the 2026 Berlin Marathon Breathe Team, he’s raising funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, with hopes of finding a cure and increasing access to new treatments.

Pulmonologist with Tampa General Hospital and USF Health, Dr. Lauryn Benninger, says treatment options have improved dramatically.

“Newer, highly effective modulator therapies are really revolutionizing CF care. So these individuals are not only living better lives, but longer lives,”said Benninger, who serves as the associate director of the TGH Adult Cystic Fibrosis Center and as assistant professor of medicine in USF Health’s Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care.

As recently as April, the FDA approved expanded use of two of those drugs.

Benninger said advancements, along with new research are promising.

“Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is really putting a huge amount of effort into research, looking into gene therapy as well,” she said.

Matthews says he has seen some of those advancements firsthand. He said one example over time is the vest he uses for at-home chest compression therapy — it’s changed to become more mobile and easier to use. And while he said he’s taking less medication than before, he believes more progress is needed.

That’s why he says he’s doing his part to help move research one step closer to a cure.

“Let people see that it’s possible and you can do it,” he said.

The Berlin Marathon is September 27.