Inspired by mom to run half marathon

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This article was published 05/05/2019 (2490 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shane Dyck did what his mother never thought possible after a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the neck down.

The 26-year-old Red River business administration student completed the five-kilometre leg of the Winnipeg Police Service Half Marathon on Sunday — on his own two legs.

His mother wasn’t there to witness the accomplishment, which he dedicated in her honour.

Dyck’s mother died May 26, 2018, of leukemia and lymphoma, two forms of cancer that are often terminal. She was 63.

“Since she passed, I couldn’t think of something to do in memory of her and then I saw this (race) and I thought, ‘Why the hell don’t I take a walk in memory of her, and raise money so other people don’t have to go through what I went through?’” Dyck said.

The death of his mother, who cared for him during the hardest part of his recovery, was tougher to deal with than anything from the crash, he said.

More than 2,900 runners braved chilly temperatures in the Winnipeg Police Service Half Marathon, two-person relay and 5K, and raised $170,000 to support brain-cancer research, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Winnipeg Police Service said in a joint statement after the marathon Sunday.

Dyck’s finish was a personal best. The accident six years ago left him with multiple injuries and doctors told him he had a one per cent chance of walking again. Surgeons had inserted two steel rods down the length of his spinal cord and bolted them together with pins. He has spent years in exhaustive physiotherapy to regain the use of his arms and legs.

“I’ve worked my butt off,” Dyck said.

The young man finished the course in 1:35, with his girlfriend, Natalie Caister, and his close friend Tiffany Taverner at his side. “It’s a big deal and it was a long way, a special thing,” Caister said. She rolled Dyck’s scooter but he didn’t need the help. He made the race at a walk with the aid of a cane. 

Just as the final runners passed the finish line, the weather took a turn for the worse at Assiniboine Park, where the event is held each year.

“It was a great run, a chilly day,” Mayor Brian Bowman told marathoners and supporters who hung in for the final announcements.

“There’s a little bit of snow falling,” Bowman observed to smiles from the crowd.

Bowman was true to his public pledge last winter, running the five-kilometre course with his two sons. His wife, herself a half-marathoner, signed up her family as a Valentine’s Day gift to her husband.

Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth kept his remarks to gratitude to the runners. “Everyone out here is celebrating someone’s memory or a survivor. Thank you so much,” he said.

In its 15th year, the event surpassed the $2-million mark in support of cancer research, a milestone organizers hoped to exceed. The race involves an army of some 400 volunteers. 

“This is a huge accomplishment for the volunteer organizing committee, community sponsors like Foodfare and runners of all levels who have participated in this marquee running event,” said Dan Holinda, Prairie regional executive director for the Canadian Cancer Society.

“The true legacy of this $2 million will not only impact research today, but it will provide benefits to cancer patients for the next 10, 20 or more years.”

Funds raised from this year’s event will support  brain-cancer research throughout Canada. Funds will be matched by Brain Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund, a public-private partnership established by the federal government.

Brain cancer is the second-most common cause of cancer deaths among youth and young adults. The overall survival rate for all cancers is over 60 per cent, while the relative survival rate of brain cancer is 22 per cent. It represents some of the most aggressive forms of cancer, making it difficult to treat.

“Funds raised at this event go directly to established research projects and get working right away and that’s pretty special,” Winnipeg Police Service race director Nick Paulet said.

“This fundraising is part of a 15-year legacy of giving by the running community participating in the WPS half-marathon.”

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca