The First of the ScotiaBank MS Walks happened on Sunday at Ambleside in North Vancouver. We had 270 people come out and walk on a beautiful sunny saturday morning. This was a great way to get out an be involved in the community and is a great cause that is of course very near and dear to my heart.
I Volunteered on the Organizing Comittee for the first time as the Prizing and TeamMS coordinator. I also gave a talk before the start and I want to share what I said, because it is a really clear thought about the message I feel needs to be out in the MS Community, we so often focus on the research, and science of what we have, that I think in my case anyway, it can be hard to get past that.
It was said after the event, This is how I live with MS,
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I remember when I was first diagnosed with MS, it was on November 5th 2003, and even though it had been 6 months of uncertainty before that I remember being crushed by that realization and still completely unaware and unprepared for what it meant to be a person with MS.
I was scared, and my neurologist didn't do much to make me feel better about the situation. I felt utterly alone. He handed me a flyer or the MS society, through the haze of my mind I can remember him telling about the prognosis, and progression. After that he sent me on my way. I know this is not unusual at the beginning, and I know now that I share this story with a lot of people.
Which brings me to what I want to touch on today. The importance of stories, as a tool to keep pushing harder in my own training, and as a way to stay positive which can be a challenge.
The Ironman is often referred to as the toughest event a person can put their body through. It is not a feat of strength, but more of endurance, patience and planning. The 3800m swim, followed by 180km bike with a 42.2k run at the end is becoming more popular every year, and Ironman Canada is considered one of the hardest of these events. I was inspired to race Ironman Canada after my third Marathon in Vancouver. I felt like my legs could do it, and I thought with more training I could do it. With a post on Facebook I began my Race4MS journey telling anyone who would listen that I was planning to run Ironman Canada. In the process I trained up to 15 hours a week, to run another 9 races, and raised $3400.00 through the endMS campaign, and met a lot o people who were touched by MS, I would like to tell you about two.
There have been three people to finish an Ironman with MS that I know of so far.
The first person was a Woman named Jenny Hopkins from Ottawa Who 10 months after her diagnosis raced in Lake Placid in July of 2009. She made headlines all over Ottawa and in the process fundraised over $10,000 for the MS society. She was important to me because for the first time after I started training for this event, I knew it had been done, and I did not feel so alone anymore.
The second person to Finish Ironman was Steve. I met Steve at the Oliver Half Ironman in June last year. He had been diagnosed 4 years before, and when i met him he was doing his first Half Ironman, he went on to finish 20 minutes faster than me in that day, and in Ironman Canada he went on to finish in 11 hours and 36 minutes in at the end of August in some of the hardest conditions, beating me by over 50 minutes. Steve is an athlete without any qualification on that word.
These people are important because they add to our community in a way that is still so rarely seen. They can show us another view to what it can mean to be a person with MS, I feel proud to be counted in their ranks. My training, and drive for Ironman taught me a lot of things about myself, how to stay positive, and how to keep hope, the biggest lessons were to just keep moving in whatever capacity I can, and take inspiration from the people who came before, who proved that the impossible could be done.
This is an important part of what it means to live with MS, we have to remember to live.
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If anyone is still considering doing some fundraising this year for the MS Society, there is still a lot of events happening, come out and enjoy the atmosphere. Here is a list of them, I encourage everyone to come out and Join the Party.
RONA MS Bike Tour
June 4th & 5th for the Fraiser Valley Grape Escape (Wine Touring on two wheels)
August 7th for the Vancouver Scenic City Tour
ScotiaBank Vancouver Half Marathon
I am on TeamMS for the Half Marathon Charity Challenge
Come join me, I will post a lot more in the months ahead while I get ready for this one, and I will talk to anyone who will listen.
Till Then,
Run Hard, Rest Well,
Ray
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