Thursday, September 14, 2006

Terry Fox Run 2006

Hi Verdun Connections members,

Many of you don't know me (BrownBlvd) personally, but I plan to run in the 2006 Terry Fox Run in Saskatoon. If you haven't been invited by anyone to pledge a donation, but would like to, you can do so on my behalf.

Please support my participation by clicking on this link and donating: http://www.terryfoxrun.org/local/asp/r/e/41841

Also, please have a quick look at the website before you make a final decision. At that link, I describe how I actually met Terry near Marathon Ontario during his westward trek back in 1980.

Let's work together to end cancer and keep Terry's dream alive. All money raised goes to cancer research.

BrownBlvd
(Ray Alisauskas)

6 comments:

brownblvd2 MSN said...

Dear VC members,

Well, today is the day.of the Terry Fox Run. If you already supported this great cause of funding cancer research in some way this year, that is great! If you still would like to help, but haven't had a chance yet, you can log on to

http://www.terryfoxrun.org/local/asp/r/e/41841

and make a pledge. The site is secure, you can read about why I got involved in this, and you get your tax receipt for your charitable donation instantly by email.

So far I have $1350 worth of pledges. I set a personal goal of $2000, so I probably won't make that, but any support is helpful.

Thanks for considering.

BrownBlvd
(Ray Alisauskas)

les__f MSN said...

Good luck on your run & achieving your goal,.......can't beleive a year has past again so quickly,..seems not that long ago,.I went down to Mile 0,....here in Victoria to take pictures of the dedication ceremony for the unveiling of a statue to honour  Terry Fox,...........that website you posted is amazing as it has links to every Province & Country ,where People can support the cause,..................Again Good Luck on achieving your goal: It's rainy here today,...which just seems to always be like that on the day of the run,......seems appropriate,as Terry did a lot of his run (near the end) in the rain:  

brownblvd2 MSN said...

Hi Les,

Thanks for the encouragement. You are right about the website being very interesting. There is a lot of good historical information about Terry that at least I forgot about - like the fact that he basically ran 140 or so marathons (one a day) over that summer of 1980 - on one leg! He was a pretty determined human being. Those kinds of facts certainly provided me with the necessary kick in the a$$ to motivate me and get out there to run for the cause.

What you said about the rain in Victoria also applied here in Saskatoon. It has been pouring rain here for about 4 days straight, and that may have had something to do with the low turnout of not just runners, but people in general, for the event. If it weren't a Sunday, I would have guessed that maybe everyone went duck-hunting or something!!! Compared to last year with its beautiful weather at the time of the run, I would have guessed that there were only 10-15% of the turnout. But, once you got going, the rain didn't really matter - I just imagined that I was in Vancouver, eh?

Anyways, thanks again for the input and encouragement.

Ray

les__f MSN said...

Ray  (BrownBlvd,).....You mentioned what motivated you ,.to start,..but were you a runner at all,before your first Terry Fox run,.........Did you just decide (for reasons already explained ,in your previous msg),...that you would enter and Try the run,...or did you start training ,.and if so for how long?,,,,,,,,,and How'd you do (time wise) I know here we can walk if we want ,.they allow anyone to participate,..so you don't have to be an excellent runner,but I thought your story might encourage others to ,start walking & running ,if they can,....with an ultimate goal of maybe particpating in a run such as the annual Terry Fox Event Some people come in wheelchairs,....little kids in strollers being pushed by their parents,......and completeting the distance isn't the whole focus,.but rather getting involved: Last year I was overwhelmed by the amount of little kids,who showed up in droves,to walk for a great cause of course,.. I heard yesterday on a CBC show,..that if someone like Terry walked into a Dr's office today,....that not only would he still be 'Alive' but that ,there's also a great chance that he would not have lost his leg:So Terry's dream & goal of helping find some cures ,...are working,.....they have made incredible strides in identifying and isolating & treating some forms of cancer.... I doubt that any of us have not been affected,by the disease...............So keep up the good work,Because there is still a 'long way' to go,.........perhaps in time they will eradicate this disease:      Thanks for bringing it to to our attention:

brownblvd2 MSN said...

Hi Les,

Before getting involved with the Terry Fox Run annually (last year for the first time), I was already a pretty active guy for someone my age (just clicked on 50 this past summer). In fact, I still play rugby but am missing playoffs due to a few sore ribs. I used to run only occasionally to more or less stay in shape for the rugby game. But, to answer your question, what really got me motivated to get involved with the Terry Fox Run was the movie shown last year on the 25th anniversary of his Marathon of Hope. As explained on the website which I had hoped people might log onto, the movie reminded me of the fact that I met Terry just by chance during his trek, but just didn't have much cash to my name at the time. I had more or less forgotten (or didn't think much) about that chance meeting in 1980, until I saw the movie last year (and again this year) after which I decided that it was time to help out.

Now, since starting with the run last year, I found that I have been running even more, just for myself. For example, I pretty well ran all winter last year. So, my current interest in running and the will to help with fundraising for cancer research in Terry Fox's name seem to be feeding off of each other, and I seem to be doing more of both. For example, now whenever I get back to Verdun for a visit, I really enjoy the run along the river (starting at Brown Blvd, of course) to "the four towers" recently mentioned in some VC email strings recently, and back along the "Acky". Or, another good run is downstream along the river, and then through the Point and back along the Lachine canal, Cote St. Paul, and over the Woodland bridge (if it is a really hot summer day or evening, I might even stop in at Lavy's for some suds).

Another bit of encouragement for me personally to dive deeper into running was the movie "Forest Gump". Remember? "Run, Forest, run!" .

Anyhow, I did the 10km stretch in about 58 minutes. But, you are right. Nobody has to run to participate. People of all ages can walk, run, cycle. This year, many of the senior folks were inolved by doing Nordic Walking - with two walking sticks that looks like it simulates cross-country skiing I guess. I agree with you how moving it was to see all the little kids participating last year (although, like I said previously, the rain really put a damper on the participation in Saskatoon this year).

So, like you said, running isn't really the whole point. But being involved is. The more folks are involved, the better the chances of funding more cancer research.

Ray (BrownBlvd).

maggiemck MSN said...

My daughter also will be involved in the Terry Fox "run" this year. Her school is having their run on October 2. Last year the school raised $1167. This year they are driven to better that. It is a K-6 school with 120 students. The kids sure get fired up with this fundraiser. Today is the first tally of the pledges........