Michelle and I had many fond memories in and around Regina. In fact, we were excited even before we arrive in the city as Michelle had planned a number of speaking engagements and interviews with the media to promote the cause.
Our first stop was the Canadian Mental Health Association drop-in centre where we spoke with the staffs and a group of mental health members who use the services at the centre. The staffs were very supportive of the cause and enthusiastic about our meeting. Although I have been sharing my story with different audiences, I often stare into shining eyes with the same warm look – the look which tells me that they can relate to my story, that they appreciate what we are attempting to accomplish, and that they are behind me in this cause. Frankly, I have also been staring into blank looks in my talks – looks of disinterest; looks of doubt; looks of prejudice. I am familiar with those blank looks and their origin but I keep turning back to the warm looks for encouragement and inspiration.
I stared into many warm shining eyes that day at the Regina drop-in centre. In support of the run, the staffs purchased some Cross Canada Run t-shirts and distributed them to the members in a draw. All the winners of the t-shirts were very happy and one of the staffs liked the t-shirts so much that he purchased one out of his own pocket. One of the members was really disappointed at not being able to get a t-shirt so Michelle gave her one and brought a big smile to her face.
Photo 1: Michelle and I with members of the CMHA drop-in centre in Regina
During our second day in Regina, we met with the staffs at the Youth Detox Centre and learned about the great services they are providing to youth affected by addictions and mental health. The detox centre was located in a secured facility and we felt the intensity of their line of work just visiting the place. I really appreciate the great work that these folks are performing day in and day out.
We visited the Campbell Collegiate in Regina the following day where I spoke to over 150 students about mental health. The students were very receptive of the message and I was surprise by how many have heard about anxiety and depression. As I spoke to the students in three different sessions, I was at the school from 8:30am to almost noon. I was a little exhausted at the end but was very happy. The speaking engagement, however, wouldn’t have been as successful without the wonderful support of Mr. Ron Turcas, the teacher at Campbell Collegiate who worked with Michelle to make the day a reality. Ron shared some of his experience with the students and was a strong advocate of mental health awareness. Working with Ron made me realize once again that many passionate people all over Canada are raising awareness of mental health in their own career and daily lives.
Photo 2: Michelle and I with a group of students from Campbell Collegiate in Regina
The media in Regina were also very supportive of the cause. Both Global TV and CTV covered the run and so did the major newspaper in Regina. I was also happy to have met with the mayor of Regina, Mr. Pat Fiacco, and chatted with him about my run. I couldn’t resist leveraging Mr. Fiacco’s popularity and he even gave me a shirt with the logo “I love Regina” which describes how Michelle and I feel about the city.
We visited another mental health drop-in centre in Swift Current, a city west of Regina, and met more kind people, including Ruth and Dave. Dave arranged for me to speak to the members of the Kiwanis Club in Swift Current. Other interesting encounters include: a tow truck operator who gave me a break on the fee when we had to be rescued from a field; a motel operator who offered free accommodations; and a supporter who pulled over on the highway to make a donation and talk to me about mental health.
Photo 3: Regina mayor Pat Fiacco and I
Lastly, I would like to announce that Michelle will be leaving the tour to return to Toronto as planned. Michelle and I had the understand from the beginning but I realize that this may come as a surprise to some. I will definitely miss her wonderful help on the road but we hope to continue to work together in other ways. Another candidate will be joining me on the road shortly so the adventure continues!
The first part of this entry was written with me sitting on the floor of the Moosomin Baptist Church in Moosomin, Saskatchewan. I had just finished the dishes in the kitchen of the church and decided to take advantage of the peacefulness inside this nice church to jot down a few thoughts. The church was made available by Chris, a reporter from the local newspaper in Moosomin, Saskatchewan. Chris had interviewed me and Michelle about the run earlier in the day and knew that we needed a place to stay so he made the arrangement with the minister at his church. The church had a shower, kitchen and washroom – facilities that are not usually readily available to us, so we were very appreciative of all the help.
The weather has gotten a lot warmer in the past few days so we have been sleeping in the RV for the past couple of nights. It was a different story a few nights ago when it was colder and we had to look for accommodation in a town where we had difficulties getting a break on the room rates from the local motels. As rejections are often hard to swallow, Michelle and I took turns selling our cause to the motel operators and we would say to each other “it’s your turn” after each rejection. Motel hunting is one of the ‘fun’ activities that we don’t particular like doing but would often give us a rewarding feeling when we eventually come across motel operators who support the cause.
Eric Kwan, the gentleman who operates the North Hill Inn in Brandon, Manitoba was one of the supporters of our journey. After learning about the run and my situation, Eric only charged a nominal rate for the accommodation and he even threw in a free night. The magic in Brandon had started with a visit to the Welcome Inn which provided mental health services. Michelle had arranged the speaking engagement at the Welcome Inn with attendances from the local TV station and newspaper. Joanna, Amber and Shannon at the Welcome Inn did a great job at promoting the event to both patients and professionals of mental health. I was getting nervous before I even got there but I reminded myself that as long as I speak from my heart then there’s nothing I should feel nervous about, so I did. I was sharing my story and some entertaining experiences from my run at first then Michelle and I was chatting with the group after my presentation. I was motivated by people like Joanna who shared her lifelong experience with anxiety. At the end Amber, one of the staffs at the welcome inn invited Michelle and I to her home for dinner. We enjoyed a delicious meal that Amber’s mom had prepared and shared a heart-warming experience with Amber and her family. Many have shown genuine kindness to Michelle and I throughout this journey but I am always pleasantly surprised by these magical encounters.
Michelle and I met a wonderful couple, Ken and Sandra Dobra, in Grenfell, SK. Sandra, who does social work at the Grenfell health centre, had been working with Michelle to arrange an event for me to speak with some employees and patients at the health centre. Sandra even baked some delicious goods for the meeting and were enjoyed by all. Despite the fact that I was unusually tired from my run, people were enthusiastic about the cause and Michelle was able to keep everyone entertained. Sandra invited us to her house for dinner after the meeting and we enjoyed some great food and a wonderful evening with her and her husband Ken.
When I came back from my morning run the next day I found some nice treats sitting on the table along with the usual snacks that Michelle had prepared (I am always treated to some nice snacks after my runs and good, health food for lunch – I have been spoiled). While I was munching on the treats, Michelle happily announced that she had found us a billet in the next town named Indian Head. We had spent the last couple of nights in an ancient hotel in Wolseley, SK and were ready to camp out in a parking lot for the night so the billet was a welcome news. Michelle explained that she was talking to a storeowner in Indian Head about the cause and the nice lady invited us to stay at her home. Dixie lives in a farm with her husband Robert and animals. We shared a nice meal with Dixie and Robert then talked about mental health and other fun topics well into the night. Michelle and I visited the animals the next morning then enjoyed a yummy breakfast that Dixie had prepared. We had such a wonderful time at the farm that I almost didn’t want to start my run of the day.
I managed to finish my distance for that day then we headed to Fort Qu’Appelle, SK to stay with Cyndie who works at the health centre in Fort Qu’Appelle where I was to speak. Cyndie is a genuinly caring person and she lives in a beautiful home along the Qu’Appelle Valley. Cyndie treated us to a delicious meal and some nice ice wine. I spoke at the health centre the next day to an enthusiastic audience and Michelle and I met Candice and others who helped make the meeting possible. We even joined the Fort Qu’Appelle health centre staffs for a spinning class where Michelle enjoyed the sport for the first time and I used some of my long idled muscles. We both had lots of fun but were walking a little funny after the bike ride.
My tour manager Michelle and I stayed with our Winnipeg hosts while we were in the city. Michelle has done an excellent job at arranging accommodations thru the Couchsurfing network and we were also able to get billet with some of the folks we met along the way. In appreciation of our first Winnipeg hosts, Sarah and Chris, Michelle and I decided to prepare a special dinner and I was to cook a couple of my favorite dishes. While shopping for ingredients at the grocery store, I stood in an aisle for about 10 minutes trying to decide whether or not to use green beans for one of my dishes. “Beans or no beans?” seemed like a difficult question for me at that moment. I normally can make a quick decision on something like that on days when I have my anxiety under control, but this is not one of those days. I have been stressed by a few things before arriving in Winnipeg and my anxiety level was running high on this specific day, thus the indecisiveness on even the simple matters. Michelle noticed my indecisiveness and wondered what the problem was, which made me even more conscious of my anxiety problem. I didn’t clarify to Michelle until the next day and she became more understanding afterwards. The fact is that I battle with my anxiety illnesses, most often General Anxiety Disorder, almost on a daily basis. While most days I am able to control my anxiety with running and psychotherapy, there are times when my illness gets the better of me and I often become indecisive even with decisions that appear simple to others. That was the case on the day I went shopping for grocery. After I finally made a decision about the beans, I went through a similar process with the other ingredients I needed. It took me unusually long to finish shopping and it affected my self-confidence as I criticized myself for the seemingly inadequacy.
On my run the next morning, I decided to analyze my shopping experience. I realized that I had criticized myself for exhibiting symptoms of mental illness. I had forgotten that my illness can indeed affect my behaviors and my everyday live. Although I have become better at dealing with my anxiety disorder, it is an illness after all. I was surprised at how I managed to forget that I actually have an illness. Then I reminded myself to be patient with the illness and myself. I also reminded myself that this is the exact reason why I am running across the country to bring awareness to the cause. Mental illness can become invisible to people and even the patients themselves, but the negative affect is real to all.
While in Winnipeg, Michelle arranged for me to appear in a morning TV show to promote the cause. I also had an opportunity to speak with a group of mental health patients and met John. John was an unassuming gentleman who initially seemed uninteresting in what I had to say when I first walked into the meeting room. His face suddenly lighted up when another group member brought up swimming, John’s favorite activity. I learned that John is competing in the special Olympics and that swimming brought out his energy and enthusiasm to life. I jokingly asked John at one point if he’s going to win the gold medal in the next special Olympics and he replied “I can’t promise that. I can only do my best”. John’s statement resonated with my personal beliefs about mental illness and my approach to life. At the end of my conversation with John and the other patients, I was absolutely inspired!
Michelle and I received good support from the Winnipeg Couchsurfers who organized a night out to partially welcome us to the city. One of the people that we met at the gathering was Shannon who promptly connected us with her sister who teaches at a school and we were talking to a group of students by the next day. I enjoyed talking to the students at The Stratcona School and Michelle also had some fun playing Q&A with the kids about mental health. Through our second Winnipeg host, Lucas, we met Tabitha – a kind lady who previously worked as a social worker and currently operating a vibrant bakery, The Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company. Tabitha shared with us her wisdom and openness about mental illness and she even sent us off with a big bag of healthy goodies from her bakery. I love it when we all come together to make things happen.
After leaving Winnipeg we weren’t able to find any hosts or billet so we camped at the parking lot of an arena in a nice town named Portage La Prairie for the past two nights. The warmer weather has made living in an RV more bearable but there are still days when it’s too cold to sleep in the vehicle so we are still hoping to find billets whenever possible. We will be in Brandon, MB for the next few days so hopefully we will have better luck there. Nonetheless, life on the road remains exciting and inspiring.
Photo 1: Me, Michelle and our Winnipeg hosts, Sarah and Chris
Photo 2: Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Winnipeg with our second host Lucas and his friends
Today Michelle and I met an awesome teacher named Nicole Lentz and a group of wonderful grade seven students in Kenora – the last major urban centre before Winnipeg. Nicole is a passionate teacher who worked very hard to establish a mental health package to help students who are affected by mental health at her school and she is very enthusiastic about promoting mental health awareness to her students. Nicole is among the many passionate people Michelle and I have met over the last little while of this journey. Michelle has been able to arrange speaking engagements in schools, hospitals, mental health groups and community clubs. I presented to students about mental health for the very first time in Ignace, Ontario and that inspiring experienced led to further talks with other students. Speaking to students about mental illness and feeling their enthusiasm really motivated me. Thanks to Kim – manager of the mental health unit at the Dryden hospital – I was also able to spread the message of the run to nurses and hospital staffs. In addition, I have been able to speak with fellow mental health patients groups in Kenora. I chatted with members of the Sunset Country Psychiatric Survivors and the Kenora Challenge Club and their desire to overcome their challenges really empowered me. As a result of Michelle’s diligent work, we have also been able to raise awareness through the local media. I am still learning to balance the need to complete the daily distances with the work to spread the words about the cause. We continue to meet kind people who offered us a place to stay at night. Tonight we droved ahead to stay with Eric, our nice host in Falcon Bridge, Manitoba. Eric is an ultra-marathon runner and we will be doing some running together tomorrow so I am looking forward to that.
My toes are currently defrosting and as such, are providing a consistent jolt of tingling feeling as I am typing this entry. My toes were frozen not because of my run across the country but as a result of a silly impulse to run on a frozen lake, bare feet. Aside from that, the first week back on the road has actually gone very well. Before I even resumed the run, my awesome tour manager Michelle had arranged accommodation in Thunder Bay through the Couchsurfing network and we stayed with Dean and Vickie for a couple of nights. We really appreciated their great hospitality and I was especially inspired by Vickie, who not only did a warm up run with me but also vowed to keep on running to keep active. Her enthusiasm and optimism truly warmed my heart. While in Thunder Bay, we also met a group of wonderful people from the Couchsurfing network who had organized a potluck to send us off with plenty of yummy food. I would also like to thank Zack Kruzins for taken the time out to help edit a video for the run.
I resumed the journey on February 24th as planned and we got to a late start as a result of trying to finish up a couple of things in Thunder Bay. I started running in the late afternoon and didn’t finish until around 9pm. As all the nearby motels were closed for the season, Michelle was able to arrange with a gas operator to stay in their garage so that we didn’t have to sleep in a cold RV. Thanks to the kind couple Kenney and Rita, we parked the RV in a garage that was well heated and enjoyed the warmth for the first two nights of our journey. The only thing lacking was a shower and that was when the local police force came to my rescue and allowed me to take a nice warm shower at the local police station. I truly appreciate folks from all walks of life helping out with this cause.
We spent the last few nights in a friendly town called Ignace. Vince, the nice operator of the Trading Post Motel, gave us a great deal on the room rate after learning about the run. While we had warm accommodation, Michelle still had to endure the cold RV while waiting for me during the day, thus, I am very appreciative of her strong character and dedication to this cause.
After six days of running, I took today off to rest the legs (so I thought) and do some awareness raising work within the local community with Michelle. We came across a number of people who were enthusiastic about the cause. Among them was Jennifer Ealey, the local mental health therapist who was passionate about her work and eager to help us with the cause. Jennifer’s passion to help others and her readiness to take action was a true inspiration to me. In addition to advising us on how raise awareness within Ignace and making a donation toward the cause, Jennifer also connected us with health care professionals in the next town so that we can arrange opportunities to promote awareness of the cause in advance.
We are ready to move on to the next town tomorrow where Michelle has already arranged another billet through Couchsurfing. I am really excited about that and the fact that my toes have now regained most of their feelings.
Just want to post a quick update from the parking lot of a northern Ontario gas station as I am typing this inside my freezing RV. Yes, I have resumed my trek across the country to raise awareness of anxiety and depression yesterday, February 24. No, I haven’t had to sleep in my freezing RV yet since my super duper tour manager Michelle has been able to arrange warm accommodations thus far. As all the nearby motels are closed for the season, we spent last night in the garage of Kenny & Rita, the kind couple who operate the Can-Op gas station in Upsala. I have to cut this entry short as I need to check-in to the garage for the final night. I am trekking the same frozen roads but I have a good feeling about this new beginning.
The time now is 3:42AM and I have jus rolled out of bed, too excited over a meeting later today with a group of fellow citizens who are passionate about making this world a better place for people affected by anxiety and depression. I am happy to tell you that this journey is beginning to move into a new phase where folks from all walks of life will be joining hands to speak up for mental health.
A couple of days ago an acquaintance asked if I had time to go out for a coffee to talk about things. I wasn’t sure what things he wanted to talk about and I had a bunch of stuffs to finish for the run but I agreed to meet anyways. Now, I probably would not have done the same in the past as I tended to be goal-oriented at that time and would put what I needed to do before anything else. I had to focus on my tasks for a few reasons. For about two years leading up to this cross country run, I scheduled intense physical training almost every day, worked a full-time job, and studied psychology part-time, all at the same time. The side effect of my goal-oriented behaviours was that I neglected to appreciate my relationship with family, friends, colleagues and others. I didn’t help my family much when they renovated the house because I had to go to the gym or go out running. Except for the odd occasions, I didn’t bother joining my colleagues for drinks after work because planning for the run was more important. Mostly due to my own insecurity and my anxiety disorders, I never had good people skills to begin with and it didn’t help that I wasn’t putting in effort to improve in that area. Sure, I seemed capable of socializing at work and I was happy to talk with people but I didn’t bother to put in the time to build deeper connections with people. Therefore, I was extremely fortunate to have had my family’s backing on this cross country run and the support of most of my colleagues throughout this journey. Perhaps they knew that I was just a little lost on my focus and that one day I might become more appreciative of people relations.
My poor people skill also cost me a whole lot on this journey. It is probably the reason why I couldn’t convince anyone I knew to drive for me in the first place. It is probably the reason why I was running on my own for the last six weeks before my injury. Besides a group of great colleagues who kept watching out for me and my wonderful family who cared for me, my meager people skill is probably the reason why I couldn’t get anyone else to work closely along side me. Sure, it was a great story to tell people that I had to hitch rides at the end of my runs in Newfoundland and that I had to trek the frozen roads in north-western Ontario on my own. But the fact remained that I had a problem that I needed to fix.
Fortunately, I had abundant opportunities to talk genuinely and deeply with people throughout this journey, which shed most of my fears of interacting with people. It taught me to focus on the goods of people and learn from their strength. For example, I have learned from my first driver Amy some navigation skills and the idea of taking things as they come; through my second driver Patrick I learned to have an open mind about things that scared me in the past; I learned more about loyalty when my friend Tommy came with me for awhile; I learned about the strength of family when my mom, sister, and brother came on the road with me; and of course, I learned plenty about human kindness from all the nice people who have supported me and helped me along the way.
If my recent injury was a sign that I needed to learn to work closer with others, then the last four weeks has been a great opportunity for me to practice my newfound appreciation of personal relationships and build deeper connections with people, one person at a time. Since my arrival back in Toronto, I have connected with mental health professionals, artists, avid travelers, and other citizens who are passionate about this cause. I think I am on an interesting journey to explore people. I still have much to learn in this area and often times I take two steps forward then one step back, but I am learning. My deeper appreciation of people is the reason why the acquaintance that I mentioned at the beginning of this entry has become a friend and it is also the reason why I was able to find a tour manager for the next leg of this run. That’s right, not only have I secured a person to drive, I have found a passionate individual who will be working closely with me to raise awareness of anxiety and depression.
Another piece of good news is that my injury has recovered sufficiently such that I will be able to resume the run very soon. However, I wouldn’t be able to leave Toronto until late February because a family member is in legal trouble and I need to stay here to assist and support until the legal issue is resolved. The decision to delay my run by a couple of weeks was a difficult one to make for a few of reasons and one of them was the fact that I had promised to resume the run as soon as possible. However, I came to what I believe is the right decision when I asked myself: how can I help others if I can’t even help my own family? Therefore I am comfortable with my decision to resume the run in late February.
In the mean time, I will continue to connect with others to make this world a better place for people affected by anxiety and depression. I am hoping that this journey will be moving into the next phase where people from all walks of life will be able to work together to accomplish a common goal. By initiating this run, I hope that I have set in motion the wheel of transformation and now is probably a good time for all of us – people who are affected by anxiety and depression, our friends and family - to come together and win this battle. I truly believe that everyone has unique talents and skills and when we combine them for a common goal our force will be unstoppable. I am hoping that marketers can work with one another to encourage fellow citizens to speak up about mental health for our collective voice is undeniably strong. I am hoping that health care professionals can come together to give us the facts about these illnesses so that we have better tools to deal with them; I am hoping that musicians can join hands with fellow musicians to write songs about these illnesses so that we can hear it like it is; I am hoping that artists can join hands with peers to paint a true picture of these illnesses so that we can see it like it is…
In all honesty, I am not eager to endure the severe cold again as the weather in central Canada around this time is even colder than when I left them, but I need to go back at my earliest opportunity to fulfill a commitment. I do not believe I have superior ability to withstand the cold; I shiver in the cold like most of you; my hands and feet get numb like yours do; and I also feel the excruciating pain when my flesh freezes, just like you do. I choose to resume the journey at this time of the year because I have long realized that this cause is beyond me. These illnesses affect so many around the world in such profound ways that my efforts will never be excessive. The truth is that I have made a conscious decision at the beginning of this journey that I would have no problem laying down my own live for this cause if that’s what it requires to take away all the pain and suffering in this world. I am not a saint as I am aware of all my imperfections and personal flaws. I am not trying to be a hero either because that notion goes against my personal beliefs. I am willing to lay everything on the line because I have experienced the pain and suffering myself. I have witnessed moments of extreme weakness; I have walked the pitch-dark tunnels; and I have felt the unshakable despairs. However, I have also witnessed extreme weakness given way to incredible human strength; I have also seen bright lights at the end of pitch-dark tunnels; and I have also felt unshakable despairs turning into unstoppable hopes! I am hoping that through my own heart I can speak to yours. I am hoping that this dark veil over us can be lifted forever. I am hoping that all of us can work together to make this world a better place.
I am humbled by, and appreciative of, my experience of dealing with the heel injury for many reasons. One obvious benefit is that it gave me a little vacation from running in the severe cold as I am indeed enjoying the milder weather in Toronto. Actually, someone just asked me today if the current weather in Toronto – with lows around -20˚C in recent days - was too cold for me to run in and I joked that it feels like spring season here compared to the weather in north-western Ontario.
The greatest benefit resulted from my injury, however, is that it provided me the opportunity to connect with some more people who also care very much about the cause. Among others, I met a psychiatrist and fellow runner who talked passionately about his work and shared with me great ideas that he intended to carry out to help raise awareness of anxiety and depression. Meeting people like that always pumps me up.
In the process of hiring a driver/assistant and recruiting volunteers, I actually got the unintended effect of spreading the message of the run to people who came across my ads. As a result, I have received numerous encouragements and advices from people who felt strongly about the cause and some really wanted to help. One such example is the enthusiastic folks from the CouchSurfing network, which aims to connect travelers with local communities worldwide. A couple of CouchSurfing members contacted me after seeing my ads and on the same day I was in the company of a group of enthusiastic, hard-cord travelers. No only did they quickly welcome me with open arms, some even offered to help with the cause. The challenge, however, is that I need to sharpen some of my skills in order to work with these great people, which I am ready to do. Nonetheless, I was touched by their overwhelming enthusiasm and readiness to take action, which renewed my energy level and provided much needed hope. The same hope that my friends, family and former colleagues have been giving me; the same hope that I got from folks who were kind to me throughout the journey; and the same hope that your continue support has provided me.
My hope has indeed been growing during the last week, partly due to the fact that I have been running again. I was extra careful with my heel when I was on the road and I was also going very slowly. I have only been doing short distances each day but was able to gradually increase the mileage, which is very encouraging. Although I still notice some discomfort with my heel after the runs but it would go away with a night’s rest and I would be able to run again the next morning. It tells me that my activity level is within my body’s limit to recuperate and my legs are growing healthier as I was able to increase my distance gradually. I am still cautious about the post-run discomfort and my challenge is to avoid increasing my daily distance too quickly, which is always tempting. I am unsure when I will be able to get my legs back to the pre-injury level but I just need to be patient.
In the mean time, I will continue to enjoy my recovery runs and enjoy the opportunities to smell the flowers, so to speak. For example, I often come across what appeared as homeless folks on my runs who were braving the bitter cold on the streets. I used the word “braving” because what they do indeed requires enormous strength. I don’t think too many of us can endure the cold like these folks do. I can’t do it. I am hoping I can learn from these folks the virtue of not underestimating a person, including ourselves.
Today I ran a different route and came across a lady sitting on the sidewalk with a cup and a sign on her lap. I said “Good Morning!” as I ran by and she replied the same but then added “Looking Good!”… I didn’t expect that and was rather touched by her encouragement. What intended as a courtesy to her resulted in a genuine exchange of good wishes. I sure have much more to see in this wonderful world and plenty to learn from people of all walks of life.
I could not get up early this morning to run and an easy 5 km run didn’t seem as easy when I finally made it out of the door. After more than two weeks of resting, I originally wanted to try my legs again yesterday but that didn’t happen. It felt a little surreal as I cautiously set foot on the sidewalk that was covered by a light layer of snow this morning. My caution waned the further I went…but then, my left calf started to cram up and it would come and go for the remaining of the run. The cramming wasn’t too bad because I was going at a slow pace and I wasn’t too concerned since my heel seemed fine. Mindful of my injured heel, I was really timid on the road and followed most of the traffic rules. I was feeling pretty good at the end of my run and once again came to appreciate how hard we need to fight just to take that first step in anything.
My good feelings, however, came to an end when I felt something on my right heel (yeah, the bad one) as I was doing my stretches and it stuck around for the rest of the day. The pain was minor but it told me that I probably haven’t recovered fully and it set off a whole bunch of alerts in my mind. Nonetheless, I have decided to give it another try tomorrow and see what happens.
I am eager to run again because I need it to keep myself motivated. It has been difficult to stay motivated without a regular schedule and I haven’t been working on the cause as much as I should. As a result, I ended up giving myself a lot of pressure because I am supposed to commit myself 100% to this cause.
I am still in the process of hiring a driver, seeking volunteers, etc. I am basically trying to put together a better plan for the last leg of the run. For the first part of this run, my goal was to get the run started then handle things as they come. I knew that the run had to happen and it was “now or never”. I focused mostly on the logistic of the run, took things one step at a time and just let things unfold. The journey largely happened that way and I was fortunate to have completed approximately 60% of the journey in that manner. Now that I’ve gotten the ball rolling and I have time on my hand, I need to put together a better plan to complete the journey. I figured it’s better late than never.
I probably would not have been able to go this far without the support of my family, friends, colleagues, and people who are simply concerned about the cause. My former colleagues basically got this journey started and many of them were with me all the way. I dropped by my former work place after returning to Toronto and the folks were still supportive and encouraging. I feel deeply indebt to them.
I will continue to draw motivations from people who support this cause, such as Denise, her colleagues, and the clients of Cole Harbour Physio and Rehab in Darmouth, Nova Scotia. Denise had learned about my run when I was still running in Nova Scotia and decided to work with her colleagues to contribute to the cause. They planned events and sold 50 cent cookies and treats to collect donations. They had materials informing their customers of the cause, thus directly raised awareness of anxiety and depression within their community. I am inspired and hope to do a better job with the run.
The following is my posting for an assistant/driver and I am hoping you can help spread the words so that I can hire someone and return to the road as quickly as possible. All are welcome to apply but this position is probably more suitable for someone who likes to travel, someone who might be looking for temporary employment, or someone who has made a resolution to be more adventurous in the new year. Although the monetary compensation for this position is not very high after I budgeted for food and accommodation in hotels/motels, hopefully this arrangement will offer the person a warm and comfortable place to sleep at night. I can’t promise that this experience will be anything like a typical vacation but I am pretty certain that it will be an exciting and memorable journey. Thank you in advance for helping to spread the words.
TOUR ASSISTANT
Would you like to travel across Canada and get paid for it?
My name is Wayne Cho and I am running across Canada to raise awareness of anxiety and depression. I am seeking a candidate to drive my recreational vehicle and assist with miscellaneous duties while I travel the country. The chief duty of the candidate will be to drive the vehicle in Central and Western Canada (Western Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta & BC) for about 2 hours per day. Food and stays in hotels/motels will be covered.
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POSITIION: Tour Assistant/Driver (male or female)
DURATION:Four months (February to May, 2009)
TRAVEL DESTINATIONS:
Western Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta & British Columbia
QUALIFICATIONS:
Must have valid driver’s license to drive a family car and minimum 2 years of driving experience
Good organization skills
Dependable
COMPENSATION: $1,000 per month
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Application Procedure:
Please email resume and any questions to wayne.cho@CrossCanadaRun.com as soon as possible
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Further information about my run is available at www.CrossCanadaRun.com
![](<a href="\" mce_href="\""http://s547.photobucket.com/albums/hh442/crosscanadarun/?action=view¤t=baptistlight-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img src="\" mce_src="\""http://i547.photobucket.com/albums/hh442/crosscanadarun/baptistlight-1.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Moosomin Baptist Church\"></a>)
