It was truly inspiring to see Terry crest Beacon Hill Park in Victoria this morning. His wife and road crew stood and watched as he finished his 600 km journey with a smile on his face.
The excitement continued to build as family, friends, and supporting runners all gathered at the Terry Fox statue to begin the 5 km run from Mile Zero to South Park Elementary School. For a while the crowd grew quite big when a bus of Japanese tourists stopped as well. The reason for the tour bus stop was obviously Mile Zero and the Terry Fox statue, but quickly the focus turned and people starting whipping out their cameras and snapping pictures furiously! What was capturing their attention and garnering smiles and laughs? Not Terry, as you might think, but his adorable blond-haired grandson, Andy, and Terry and Judy's equally adorable dog, Mocha! The tourists could not get enough of those two - they definitely stole the show!
Our run began at 9:30 am and we made great time, ending up at the school just before 10:00 am where a wonderful reception met us - complete with the Chariots of Fire soundtrack! Personally, I felt very honoured to be running with an amazing group of athletes, including Jim Finlayson, Mark Cryderman and Karin Kratz.
Terry, thank you so much for being an inspiration to me personally, to the KidStart program, The John Howard Society of North Island, The John Howard Society of Victoria and to all of the current and potential mentors who are motivated by your actions and moved by your words. I will miss the opportunity of turning your daily phone calls into stories on this blog - till next time!
Saturday 28 April 2012
Friday 27 April 2012
One More Day to Go!
Terry once said that the last month has been nothing but eat, run, sleep, eat, run, sleep. We can imagine that the past couple of days of rest have been a nice break and we are positive that he is looking forward to tomorrow morning when he runs into Mile Zero at 9:00 am and then at 9:30 am begins his last 5 km, ending up at South Park Elementary School field.
Any and all supporters of Terry and the KidStart Run are invited to head down to South Park Elementary School to give a warm welcome to Terry and his supporting runners. What a momentous day tomorrow will be! 26 days and 600 km! You can do it Terry - we never had any doubt!
The John Howard Society of North Island was so lucky to have had you as a mentor in the KidStart program and we are honoured that you have continued to support KidStart in such an amazing way!
Any and all supporters of Terry and the KidStart Run are invited to head down to South Park Elementary School to give a warm welcome to Terry and his supporting runners. What a momentous day tomorrow will be! 26 days and 600 km! You can do it Terry - we never had any doubt!
The John Howard Society of North Island was so lucky to have had you as a mentor in the KidStart program and we are honoured that you have continued to support KidStart in such an amazing way!
Thursday 26 April 2012
Tales from the Road
We hope Terry, Judy and the road crew are enjoying some rest and relaxation in Victoria today! Saturday can't come soon enough for two ladies at the John Howard Society office who are excited to be heading down to Victoria tomorrow morning to join Terry on his last 5 km run!
We are all counting down the hours in anticipation of Terry completing his 600 km and finally finishing what he set out to accomplish at the beginning of this month- running Vancouver Island from tip to tip! Speaking of counting down the hours, we were always interested in what exactly went through Terry's mind as he ran day in and day out. This is what Terry had to say a few weeks ago when asked:
"The other day as I was running, I had my head down and I thought to myself, Terry, you are running like a clock! And then I thought... you jerk, a grandfather clock!"
We all had a chuckle over that! Keep on ticking Terry!
We are all counting down the hours in anticipation of Terry completing his 600 km and finally finishing what he set out to accomplish at the beginning of this month- running Vancouver Island from tip to tip! Speaking of counting down the hours, we were always interested in what exactly went through Terry's mind as he ran day in and day out. This is what Terry had to say a few weeks ago when asked:
"The other day as I was running, I had my head down and I thought to myself, Terry, you are running like a clock! And then I thought... you jerk, a grandfather clock!"
We all had a chuckle over that! Keep on ticking Terry!
Wednesday 25 April 2012
Terry Hits the Galloping Goose!
The relaxing run down the Malahat was probably not what Terry envisioned when he started out yesterday afternoon. Only three feet of pavement separated him from the massive, speeding semi-trucks that roared down the highway blasting him with their gravitational force and soaking him from head to toe as they generated muddy waves.
It could not be better timing then that, as of this afternoon, Terry is off the highways and running along the gentle and quiet path of the Galloping Goose Trail. Instead of the roar and honks of vehicles, he will now plod along to the sound of his own footsteps.
Terry built a few extra days into the run as a buffer to ensure he would complete the entire journey from tip to tip in 26 days, foreseeing any possible injuries or extremely bad weather. As it stands today, Terry will run to the old Johnson Street Bridge by this afternoon, finishing his journey to Victoria in excellent health!
After a few days rest, Terry will complete the final leg of the run this Saturday, April 28th. He expects to be at Mile 0 at 9:00 am. Any and all supporters of KidStart, Terry, and his amazing accomplishment, are strongly encouraged to meet Terry at this milestone and cheer him on.
Once Terry reaches Mile 0, he will be joined by fellow runners and supporters to complete the last 5 km finishing at South Park Elementary School field.
Tuesday 24 April 2012
Day 22 Rocky Balboa Has Got Nothing on Terry Kratzmann!
This morning Terry conquered the Malahat! It took 2 gruelling hours to cover 15.7 km of steep, winding mountain until finally reaching the summit - 1,156 ft above sea level!
After the arduous trek up, surrounded by the imposing mature forest and rugged mountainside, and finally reaching its very peak, Terry brought to mind the famous scene in Rocky, where Rocky Balboa runs up the stairs and throws his arms up in victory. As Terry stood, turned and looked at the road behind him, he thought, "I would have liked to have seen Rocky do that!"
Famished and sweaty from such a momentous effort and accomplishment, Terry looked forward to nothing more than getting back to his RV to eat a big meal and have a hot shower... only to find once he got there that Judy had locked up the trailer and headed into the city to go shopping!
Terry, we have to admit, we had a good laugh about that! We pictured you standing in front of the locked RV door yelling, "Juuudddyyy!" the same way Rocky yelled, "Aaaadrian!"
The lure of great shopping in Victoria would be hard to resist for us ladies at the John Howard Society office too! And how was Judy to know that you would run up the entire mountain in only 2 hours? Absolutely amazing!
Congratulations on hitting the final stretch of your journey! Enjoy the ease of downhill as you make your way to Goldstream Park this afternoon!
After the arduous trek up, surrounded by the imposing mature forest and rugged mountainside, and finally reaching its very peak, Terry brought to mind the famous scene in Rocky, where Rocky Balboa runs up the stairs and throws his arms up in victory. As Terry stood, turned and looked at the road behind him, he thought, "I would have liked to have seen Rocky do that!"
Famished and sweaty from such a momentous effort and accomplishment, Terry looked forward to nothing more than getting back to his RV to eat a big meal and have a hot shower... only to find once he got there that Judy had locked up the trailer and headed into the city to go shopping!
Terry, we have to admit, we had a good laugh about that! We pictured you standing in front of the locked RV door yelling, "Juuudddyyy!" the same way Rocky yelled, "Aaaadrian!"
The lure of great shopping in Victoria would be hard to resist for us ladies at the John Howard Society office too! And how was Judy to know that you would run up the entire mountain in only 2 hours? Absolutely amazing!
Congratulations on hitting the final stretch of your journey! Enjoy the ease of downhill as you make your way to Goldstream Park this afternoon!
Monday 23 April 2012
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Terry and his crew have set up camp in Victoria today as he prepares to run into Mill Bay this afternoon. He is gearing up for tomorrow morning when begins running the Malahat.
Applebees in Victoria will be hosting a dinner for Terry and the road crew this Thursday - something to look forward to as he runs into town!
After much thought, Terry has decided not to run the Times Colonist run this Sunday. He made this decision due to the fact that he has been running at a very steady pace each day and he feels that putting himself in a race situation the day after he finishes the KidStart run will open the door for injury. Terry feels great right now and he wants to stay that way!
When asked if he realizes what an accomplishment the KidStart run has been, he humbly replies that he hasn't really thought much more about it other than he never had any doubt that he could accomplish it. There are no doubts on our end either, Terry! Enjoy these last few days on the road!
Sunday 22 April 2012
15 Marathons
By 11:00 am this morning, Terry had arrived 6 km north of Duncan and expected to be south of Duncan by the end of the day. As he runs through Duncan, he expects to use the sidewalks because of the heavy traffic and his escort vehicle will skip ahead and meet up with him at the end of the town.
He's had beautiful weather again with slightly overcast skies and temperatures between 9 and 11 centigrade.
He was met by a wonderful group in Ladysmith where he was joined for the run by his friend Costas Roussinos. Costas is training for the Vancouver marathon so we started to compare the KidStart run to a marathon. We realized that running the length of Vancouver Island is the equivalent to almost 15 marathons! And Terry has a bit more than one more marathon to run before he reaches his destination.
The challenging part of the run - the Malahat - is still ahead of him. Keep it up Terry and run safely. We're so proud of you.
He's had beautiful weather again with slightly overcast skies and temperatures between 9 and 11 centigrade.
He was met by a wonderful group in Ladysmith where he was joined for the run by his friend Costas Roussinos. Costas is training for the Vancouver marathon so we started to compare the KidStart run to a marathon. We realized that running the length of Vancouver Island is the equivalent to almost 15 marathons! And Terry has a bit more than one more marathon to run before he reaches his destination.
The challenging part of the run - the Malahat - is still ahead of him. Keep it up Terry and run safely. We're so proud of you.
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