it's not very often i see a news story that aggravates me to the point that i will literally log in and comment on the story, but that's what i did today on CBC's website.
i initially expressed disappointment that local runners were not given the chance to attend, and interestingly enough, this was met with a series of 'thumb's down' from other readers.
but i seemed to have redeemed myself with the following follow-up comment:
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"for all of you bashing the amateur running community, take note that runners are among the most generous in the world when it comes to charity. we give lots of money and lots of time. the average club runner takes part in anywhere from 5-10 charity races every year, including terry fox run and cibc breast cancer runs, among many others. we collect pledges from family, friends, and co-workers, and we get out of bed at 7 am on sundays and go outside in the cold rainy weather to run for charity, while the rest of the world stays home and sleeps in.
i and others were approached by Terry Fox foundation and CBC 2 years ago and asked if we would be willing to give up our summer plans to volunteer to run across Canada as part of a made for tv reality series that would both pay tribute to Terry, raise money for cancer, and make CBC famous. unfortunately this show never materialized but i was glad to express willingness to be a part of this, as were many other runners.
Terry Fox means many things to many people. in addition to cancer, he was an inspiration for people with disabilities in general, and he is a great example of doing the best one can to live a healthy life. he has inspired many others to run across Canada or run in general for a variety of causes, all important. Terry was the main reason i took up running and the main reason i willingly give up time and money to help others on a regular basis. let's not forget that Terry Fox was an athlete, and none of his legacy would have existed if it wasn't for his legendary daily marathon runs.
Today is a special day for many people who want to celebrate Terry, not just for those in corporate jobs at the Cancer society or those who are in politics."
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Bottom line, it's great that the cancer society is able to piggyback on the success of Terry's name and his legacy, in order to pursue their business objectives further; but ultimately, today should have been much more than a publicity stunt for senior corporate executives and a photo op for politicians.
funny how the media was all over Betty Fox and the politicians, yet yesterday, a local running club held their own little tribute in the form of a 4k road race in honour of Terry's name, but that got no credit.
some good news that is close to my heart, that came out of today, was that Terry's 30th anniversary opened the door for local media to revisit the current cross Canada charity run by Candace Sutherland , a young lady who i am extremely impressed and inspired by, and who i am helping out informally as a volunteer consultant. I am doing whatever i can to help Candace and her team gain media attention and gain sponsorship and donations both for her charities and for her running logistical financial bank account. On that note, please do click on her website if you haven't already done so! She is running across Canada to raise money for 4 specific charities, one of which is the Canadian cancer society.
speaking of running, i had a nice 20k tempo run yesterday and a light 5.5k today. i generally felt strong today, having had 2 great weekend sleeps. i spoke with one of my doctors and we are going to beef up my SSRI meds to see if that will help improve and stabilize my moods.
Jenn
1 comment:
Well said Jennifer! Completely agree.
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