32nd Annual Terry Fox Run

Hey everyone that is reading!

I apologize for not posting very much in the last few weeks. My husband and I did a move into our new home. More to come on that in a later post.

My focus for today's blog is on 'Terry Fox' and the 32nd annual 'Terry Fox' run that just happened yesterday all over Canada.

Have you ever asked yourself, "Who would high-five? or like to meet if I could meet anyone in the world?" Well my answer has and always will be Terry Fox!!

For those that don't know who Terry Fox is, I'm going to put a quick bio about him in here from:
 'The Terry Fox Foundation' at www.terryfox.org/TerryFox/Terry_Fox.html
  Please check out the website to learn more!

Terry

"Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimeters (six inches) above the knee in 1977.

 While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.

 It was a journey that Canadians never forgot.

 

After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran close to 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario. However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. 

An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at the age 22.

The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning.

To date, over $600 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world."

-Terry Fox Foundation at www.terryfox.org


Now that you've read a little bit about Terry I hope you can see how inspiring, strong both mentally and physically, caring and determined he was. The more I've learned about what he did and what can be done the more I want to be involved.

While living in the states for seven years I was donating but never had the privilege of racing. Last year was my first year back in Canada and I had the chance to be part of the run but my sister had her wedding celebration happening so I knew this year was a must...No execuses.

What I did was team up with my trusty furry friend, Kaiser! We joined in on the 'Thornhill Terry Fox Run' in my local community yesterday September 16th, 2012.

Kaiser and I pre-run! He was distracted by all the energy and people ready to run.

Joining us there was Cheryl Kohut, inspiring run ambassador from lululemon, and friend and Yasmin and her husband (two lululemon run club members).

While I was in Thornhill getting ready to run I was deeply thinking about one of my closest friends, the beautiful Amy Robichaud, who was also running the race with many family and friends. They were all running it in honour of someone very dear to them that they lost to cancer, they called it 'Terry for Sherri' and fundraised $3,300 when their goal was only $1,500. I just want to call them out and say that YOU ALL ARE AMAZING! Cancer has taken so many lives and I am so proud to be part of an organization that works to fund innovative and progressive cancer research programs.

Being that this was Kaiser's first official run I didn't know how he would be/do. I was a little nervous that he would be too excited and burnout very fast with many runners around him. I also didn't know what to expect in terms of other dogs that would be there and I knew if there were a lot of dogs Kaiser would want to play with them all and be pulling in every direction. My last concern was the distance. Kaiser has ran many 10ks and more with myself or my husband Kevin but over the summer his mileage decreases due to the heat. Today was much cooler but he hadn't done a 10k in months.

The weather was ideal: A sun that warmed the body when it hit you, and a cool crisp air.

The run started and we all did a loop around a local school track. This is where we saw the most people and Kaiser wasn't too sure where to go but wanted to catch whoever was in front of us. Pretty competitive...I wonder where he get's that from?
Once the pack separated Kaiser was doing just fine and got into a rhythm. We ran a 10 in 1, that's where you run for 10mins and walk for a min to rest and get your nutrition and hydration in. It was my first time doing this style of running and Cheryl was tracking it on her watch and letting us know when to do so. I'm not sure if this is something I'd be able to do myself for my races but I thought it was perfect for Kaiser and it gave him a chance to get some water in.

5k mark and still distracted!

At the end Kaiser made his last uphill climb and half lap around the track to finish strong and I was the proudest mom ever. He was such a trooper and had energy left over to show it.

The run was beautiful and it was so nice to see runners/walkers of all ages out. Many families participated which warmed my soul. It got me thinking about my future and how much I want my future family to participate in this race together.

The run in Thornhill had over 500 participants, and together it raised an amount of money that may well surpass $50,000.00 when all cheques and final coins are counted.

I also completed one of my fall goals...to find and run a dog friendly race with Kaiser!!!

Looking forward to running it again next year and supporting the amazing, 'Terry Fox Organization'.

-Calea