Yesterday I ran a 5k for Terry Fox.
I haven’t run for six or seven years, not since an injury in 2020. I managed to find my way back to walking, hiking, swimming, biking, and sun salutations (always, yoga). But I thought for sure my running days were behind me.
Yesterday morning when I got to Toronto’s High Park at 8:30 AM to join 1600 others for the local Terry Fox run, my plan was to walk the 5k.
Marathon of Hope
For those of you who don’t know, Terry Fox started the Marathon of Hope in 1980 to raise funds and awareness for cancer research. He set out to run across Canada, from St. John’s to Victoria. He ran on his one good leg and a prosthetic, after he lost a leg to cancer.
I remember being a kid following his run on TV, like everyone else, in awe of his drive to keep going against all odds along the desolate highways of Canada’s hinterland. As he passed through towns along the way, small crowds gathered to cheer him on, but mostly he was alone on the road, with his brother following behind in a van, not another car in sight.
He had covered 5,373 kilometres, and raised $24 million, by the time his run was cut short in Thunder Bay, when cancer spread to his lungs.
Finish it
Since Terry Fox started the Marathon of Hope, people have been running every year to “finish it” for Terry. He inspired millions of Canadians and cancer survivors to keep on running. In the 46 years since, Terry Fox runs have raised over $1 billion. Globally, 3 million people signed up for the run this year.
Yesterday morning, after the speeches, cheers, and warm ups, something moved me to just go for it. I decided I’d try to run, just for a minute or so, and then I figured I could walk the rest of the way. There was a big crowd, with a lot of walkers. It’s a super accessible, friendly, low pressure sort of run.
We started on a downslope. My gentle jog was going well, so I decided to keep on going as long as I felt good. And I did! I felt good after the first kilometre. From my running days way back when, I knew that if I got through the first 10 minutes or so, the rest should feel okay.
All the way to the finish line, my heart and lungs felt strong. After about seven years without running, how did I ease back into a 5k? I have no doubt, my daily āsana practice and prānāyāma have kept me strong in body, breath, and mind.
The Flow of Prana
Yoga also opens up the flow of prana—that formidable energy of life. What keeps us going, sometimes against the odds, through the challenges life throws at us, the injuries, hardships, and illnesses? As long as the prana flows, life goes on.
Terry Fox had a life force that was strong enough to keep him running marathons day after day across Canada, through rain, heat, and sleet. His prana flowed like a grand river, carrying him on his own Marathon of Hope, and all those that followed in his path since. Yesterday morning, I ran with the spirit of Terry flowing through me.
Getting to the Finish Line
For me, the run was a fitting capstone to a year and a half of my own cancer treatment, which wrapped up in late August. I’m profoundly grateful that my cancer was curable. It’s liberating to be done with the surgeries and IV infusions, blood tests, biopsies, and MRIs.
I got through all that with support from my yoga therapists, Felicia Pavlovic and Dr. Chandrasekaran, who gave me a daily practice that brought peace, comfort, and strength during some of my most difficult days.
Now, here I am with a 5k under my belt.
Thank you to Terry Fox, for the inspiration, and to the millions of people who carry on his legacy to improve the lives of people living with cancer.
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