I saw in a post on www.trainharder.com in the BC news section that my website was featured with a statement that read “we don’t really know what’s this blog is about but Steve is a runner who appears to want to run across Canada”

I am a cancer survivor who wishes to pay back the country and it’s people for all they have done which gave me this second chance a life. When one is given a slim chance to live you actually have to confront death. Give death a real look in the eyes. Now, this is much different than just the realization that people die. I mean “knowing” that you will die.

Spending the next 5 months in the land of deathly sick patients at the chemotherapy ward. Watching your self and others including children suffer and waste away. Then to be thrown back in to the world of the living.

Now what?

What is the best use of my life. It took me nearly 10 years of soul searching but I finally discovered what i wish to do. I want to run across Canada. This is something that is done all the time now a days.  When Terry Fox did it, it was monumental.  Now it’s just another humdrum achievement listed in the smallest most obscure part of a local newspaper…..If your lucky.

There are a lot of people doing a lot of amazing things to raise money for Cancer, and other diseases. So rather than competing for the same money and media attention that all others are striving for, I will approach curing Cancer from a different angle. Fitness. It is well researched and proven that being healthy and fit is the number one thing you can do to ward off diseases like Cancer, Heart disease, Lung Disease, Diabetes et al.
My belief is that if we can stay out of hospitals and disease free long enough to give those working on curing these diseases the time and resources they need, they will have a better chance at being successful. Emergency rooms across this great country are overflowing.  Many of them would not need to be there if they lived healthier active lifestyles, eating balanced healthy diets filled with “real” food.
My goal then is to get all of Canada moving. Motion creates motion. I want to get Canadians off the couch and out onto the trails and into gyms. Educate them on how to be “fit” and how to eat “real” foods. How to be strong and injury free.

To do this I am going to run across canada and attempt to create a wave of fitness across this great land of ours. I am challenging Canadians to take part in my trek across Canada. I am challenging every Canadian to do a Kilometer with me. Whether it’s on a bike, walking or running. I am also not taking the usual route people take that is a round 8000 km. I am going to use the newly developed Trans Canada Trail.  This will be approximatley 12,000 km. The once great Canadian Railway that was built to join this country from sea to sea in order flourish commerce and trade is now being transformed in to a recreational trail to join this country together in a fight against disease, unhealthiness and obesity.

So come on Canada, get up off the couch. Come and join me in my trek across Canada to promote healthy long disease free living.  Let’s do our part.

Run for your lives

Steve