SUNDRE/OLDS — A local resident decided to commit to embarking on a roughly 40 kilometre (km) one-way trek to Olds from west of Sundre in recognition of the Marathon of Hope’s 40th anniversary.
Ken Kerik, an active Terry Fox Run supporter who has participated in the annual cancer research fundraiser since the mid-1980s, wanted to set the bar a little higher for himself for the occasion.
On Sunday, Kerik, who started at about 9 a.m., said he completed his trek at around 4:15 p.m. after alternating between jogging and walking a distance of about 47 km — a total of 50,703 steps — over the span of six hours and 38 minutes.
“I did it back in April — Sundre to Olds — ’cause it was one of my goals that I kind of always wanted to do. So, I just decided that I wanted to do it again for the Terry Fox Run,” said Kerik, who lives several kilometres west of Sundre and owns Kerik’s Meat Market in Olds, which has been operating since 2001.
“The last time I did it, it took me eight hours. So, hopefully, I’m going to try and shave an hour off this time,” said Kerik during a phone interview on Sept. 18.
Participating in the Marathon of Hope since 1985, Kerik said he generally strives to complete a 10-km route pretty much every year.
“But this year, I’m doing a big one — it’s their 40th anniversary…so it’s just kind of fitting.”
The distance he’ll be travelling is a little more than 40 km, “but it kind of works out. It’s the furthest I’ve ever gone, that’s for sure. I’ve done lots of 10 ks, and sometimes build up to 20, but that was quite a long one.”
Regardless, Kerik expressed confidence about completing what he set out to accomplish.
“When I first started this back in 1985, I was in my early 20s and I had just quit smoking, and I couldn’t even run a block back then,” he said with a chuckle.
“So then I built up to the 10 k. And now, as I get older, I just keep getting a little more endurance.”
Starting about five kilometres west of Sundre, Kerik hit the road on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 20, and planned to finish up upon arriving on the west side of Olds.
“My father-in-law is walking the last five k with me,” he said, adding his wife Leanna would drive him home afterwards.
Celebrating their 21st wedding anniversary on Friday, the couple has traditionally gotten involved in the Marathon of Hope.
“We got married and did the Terry Fox Run the next day, 21 years ago,” he said.
Leanne, who is more social media savvy than himself, has assisted his fundraising effort, which was around $1,100 when he spoke with The Albertan.
Kerik anticipates alternating between running or jogging and walking.
“I don’t run the whole thing — I walk and run. It’s a long ways if you run the whole thing. I don’t know how some people do that — not me!” he laughed.
Although he doesn’t train in the traditional sense of a gym routine, Kerik said he nevertheless endeavours to run between 10 to 20 kms every Sunday.
While 40 km might seem like a substantial distance to go on foot, Kerik candidly recognized it pales in comparison to Fox’s marathon.
“When you think of what Terry Fox did, it’s really not very much. Because he did it every day for 140-something days in a row — on one leg,” he said, also praising the Fox family’s effort to keep alive the Marathon of Hope’s dream to cure cancer once and for all.
