The Terry Fox Run -- Why it's like a calling to me



I’ve completed 20 Terry Fox Runs, from 1995 until 2015.

Every year I’d ask family, friends and colleagues to sponsor me, and every year (except 1995) my folks would drive me to our local run site (Wilket Creek Park in Toronto), so that I could complete the 10K route (via walking/light jogging) and do my part for The Terry Fox Run.   

What’s sustained me to do The Terry Fox Run for 20 years?

Meaningfulness.  For me, Terry Fox evokes an image of a hero.  I am inspired that Terry ran a marathon a day for 143 days on an artificial leg.  Terry’s Marathon of Hope (to raise money and awareness for cancer research) started on April 12, 1980 (in St. John’s, Newfoundland) and ended on September 1, 1980 (just outside Thunder Bay, Ontario).  I am proud to count myself among the millions of participants (worldwide) who have continued Terry Fox’s legacy.

Network Support.  Every year I sponsor myself to start things off.  Every year I am heartened to receive financial support.  The support encouraged me to participate in The Terry Fox Run year after year.  I have a small group of supporters (8 people) who supported me in the early years and continued to support me year after year.  I am grateful to those supporters as well as those who sponsored me once, twice, or any number of times!

Impactful Experiences.  The first time that I did the Terry Fox Run was in 1995 with a small group of colleagues at CCH.  The VP of Human Resources at CCH at the time asked if I was interested in organizing a company team, because she knew that I was interested in running.  I was happy and excited to run in the Terry Fox Run that year with my colleagues.  I am still connected on LinkedIn to two of those colleagues!

It rained in 1995.  After that first year, it was (mostly) dry weather for the ensuing years.  I am amazed and happy that The Terry Fox Run has been blessed with fantastic weather! 

My folks drove me to the local run site for 19 years.  After I finished the run, we would have a family picnic.  Those family picnics evoke memories of quality family time.  I am grateful to the Terry Fox Run organizers at the Wilket Creek Park run site for making those picnics possible, and for being such a friendly presence on the day of the event, year after year.  The picnics encouraged me to participate in The Terry Fox Run year after year. 

In the early years that I did The Terry Fox Run, the organizer of the Wilket Creek Park run site was Chris Henry.  I looked forward to receiving correspondence from him to remind me about the upcoming Terry Fox Run.  I finally was able to meet Chris in person in 2015 at a local networking event!

Exercise motivator.  The Terry Fox Run has kept me motivated to go for regular walks.  I think to myself that I must train and go for walks, so that I can complete the 10K walk in September!    

For more information about The Terry Fox Run, please visit The Terry Fox Run web site here.

Here is a video if you would like to learn more about Terry Fox’s story (Credit: ESPN).



Originally Published on LinkedIn:  August 20, 2016
Image Credit:  Pixabay


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Launch

Image
I invite you to the launch of my new blog web site on the Blogger platform! I call my blog “The Positive Pathfinder.” You can find my blog here (URL = thepositivepathfinder.blogspot.com).  I wanted to expand my social media presence. I wanted to learn something new. And I wanted to set up a portfolio of my posts where I could direct potential employers to. After pondering 72 names over 2 days, I decided on calling my blog “The Positive Pathfinder.” First I’m a positive guy.  Also, I’m at a stage in life where I feel like I’m in flux. Don’t quite know what I’ll be doing, but I know I want to pursue some interests of mine, like setting up a blog web site (done) and taking an improv class (done and in progress). I am positive that I am not the only one who feels like they are in flux and so I am excited to continue to share my thoughts and experiences with you and to draw inspiration from your thoughts and experiences as well. We can learn and inspire each
Read more

Compound Interest (And Not the Financial Kind)

Image
I watched a movie on video yesterday called “Hello, My Name Is Doris” with Sally Field.  I would describe this movie as a dramedy where instead of boy meets girl and boy falls in love with girl, the movie turns things around where girl (Sally Field) meets boy (Max Greenfield) and girl falls in love with boy.  I liked this movie!  You can read a movie review from Variety  here .   One of the elements in the movie was Facebook where girl attempts to connect with boy on a personal level by going on Facebook and finding out about his interests.  The girl finds out that one of his interests is a particular electronica band.  By happenstance, the band would be playing at a local club, and she goes to the club in hopes of meeting the boy.  This reminds me about networking.  During face-to-face networking we try to find common ground.  We ask questions to find out what a person does, where they work or went to school.   We show interest in the other person by asking questions.  Mayb
Read more

Voice

Image
The other day a pensioner called at work. I happened to have picked up the phone.  He was very passionate, and I gathered that he wasn’t happy with the amount that he was receiving in old age pension. I asked if he called his MP’s constituency office. No, he hadn’t, because it wouldn’t help.    I sensed that this person didn’t feel that he had a voice when it came to his pension. Nowadays you hear headlines where robots are taking over jobs in the workplace. I think some employers would concur with the notion that employees should be seen rather than be heard. And like a robot they have no voice. For most of my working life, I went along with the notion that employees should be seen rather than be heard. In January 2013 I lost my job.     I found my job search to be a challenging time.  Out of resignation, really, I decided to write a LinkedIn post at a friend’s suggestion.   A light switch turned on when I wrote my very first po
Read more