2 days ago
Cape Breton's '60's Squad supports teammate in cancer battle on global running day
A group of Cape Breton women in their 60s and 70s got out for a few kilometers together on Wednesday's Global Running Day and one of them has been hitting the pavement lately despite adversity.
'I was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 17, and started my chemotherapy treatments on April 14,' said Trish Walsh, who lives in the Sydney area.
Walsh got the diagnosis while training to try and qualify for her first Boston Marathon. Now, she says has new motivations to keep lacing up her sneakers with her friends.
'I do what I can,' the 68-year-old said. 'I'm certainly not at the level I was before this all happened, but I decided... when I got the diagnosis, I was halfway through marathon training and I had to stop that, and I don't want cancer to take anything else from me.'
The running group - who call themselves 'The '60s Squad,' meets every Wednesday morning for a workout and often a coffee afterward.
The members say it's more than just sport - it's a social life.
'Only I knew that it was Global Running Day, so I made sure that I let the ladies know,' team member Anne Doyle said. 'I think it's wonderful that we meet people of all ages. We've run with kids as young as twelve, and we've watched them grow.'
Running as a lifestyle
Jarvis Googoo of Dartmouth, originally from We'kok'maq First Nation in Cape Breton, has completed marathons all over the world and enjoys a healthy lifestyle. The latest highlight for the 44-year-old was finishing just two seconds behind Canadian Olympian Julie-Anne Staehli in the final leg of last month's Cabot Trail Relay Race.
'How has running changed my life? So many ways,' Googoo said. No matter where he races around the globe, he said he feels he is representing his Mi'kmaq people back home.
'I like to think of myself as running not just on behalf of Canada, or Nova Scotia, but running on behalf of the Mi'kmaq Nation. Mi'kmaki, 13,000 years old, it's a very old nation to be representing.'
Walsh said she hopes she cab represent the '60s after finishing chemotherapy and other treatments she might be able to run cancer-free.
'I'm kind of comparing my cancer journey with a marathon, because you put a lot of hard work into marathon training and you cross the finish line', Walsh said. 'And I'm putting a lot of hard work into this journey, and I hope I cross the finish line.'
One thing is for sure: the rest of the '60s Squad will be beside her every step of the way.
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