Total kms in 17 weeks: 689.5 kms
Longest run: 35 kms
Other training: walking, yoga
Fundraising to date: $4,001
Done. My hardest week of training is behind me so I can now focus on resting and healing fully before race day – exactly 4 weeks from today.
The high point of my week was participating in the 31st Terry Fox Run this afternoon. For those who may not have heard of him, Terry is one of our great Canadian heroes. When he was just 18 years old, he lost his right leg to bone cancer. Determined to make a difference, he decided at the age of 21 to run a “Marathon of Hope” across Canada (from Newfoundland to BC) to raise funds for cancer research.
Sadly, he wasn’t able to complete his journey. After running 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles) – nearly a marathon a day - the cancer returned as he was running through northern Ontario and he was forced to return home to BC where he died less than a year later.
Terry’s death was a tragedy but his legacy lives on. Shortly after his death, his mother, Betty, organized the first Terry Fox Run. Runs are now held annually around the world and it is estimated that more than half a billion dollars has been raised for cancer research. Betty kept her son’s memory and mission alive until she passed away herself in June of this year.
Thinking about Terry these past few days, I’ve been reminded of just how puny my own efforts are in comparison to his.
A marathon a day.
For 143 days.
I can’t imagine what courage and determination it must have taken to get out of bed and run for hours in pain every day on what we would now consider a pretty rudimentary prosthesis. He didn’t have to do it. Nobody expected anything so extraordinary from a 21 year old with one good leg. But he did it anyway and we will always remember him and be grateful for that.
In light of all the sacrifices Terry and his family made, it seems the least I can do is run a little race in San Francisco next month. Please sponsor me if you can.
In light of all the sacrifices Terry and his family made, it seems the least I can do is run a little race in San Francisco next month. Please sponsor me if you can.
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