I ran with my iPod in my hand and the memory of Stephanie in my head. The course began at the Pioneer Centre in Spruce Grove. A woman shared at the departure ribbon about how her friend just passed away on Friday of Cancer and how her husband currently has it. It was touching to see the handful of people out on a chilly Sunday morning ready to fight the wind and test endurance.
My running mates were strangers - a middle aged woman and a young man. Our course was approximately 7 kms, though we were told it was 10 kms. I finished first of the runners with a time of 36:29. It was a rather surreal experience and I was choking back tears even as I was stretching before the run. The wind was bitter along Grove Drive and the last half of the route passed through a grove of spruce.
I also recalled stopping by the Terry Fox monument in Thunder Bay last summer on my bike. His legacy is incredible. He ran an average of 42 kms (a marathon) each day from St. Johns, NF to Thunder Bay, ON at the age of 22 after losing a leg to cancer. He died of lung cancer 10 months after he left the trail.
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