BC MAN RUNNING ACROSS CANADA TO RAISE AWARENESS OF BRAIN INJURIES

BC MAN RUNNING ACROSS CANADA TO RAISE AWARENESS OF BRAIN INJURIES

Posted by admin on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 · Leave a Comment 

David McGuire is one of many Canadians who has a brain injury. He suffered a stroke in 2005 which has affected not only his memory but also his ability to do the many simple things that most Canadians take for granted.

Despite this disability David is currently running across Canada one marathon a day for six straight months.  David began his run in St. John’s Newfoundland on April 1st and is currently in Ontario near Lake Superior. He hopes to reach Victoria, B.C., the end of his run, by November.

Joining David on his campaign is BrainTrust Canada, a progressive non-governmental organization whose mandate is to aid in the prevention of brain injury and to improve the quality of life for persons with brain injury. BrainTrust Canada is hoping this run will raise awareness of brain injuries. Amazingly brain injuries are the largest disabler and killer of people under the age of 45 and the biggest cause of death to all children under the age of 20.

By visiting www.runtoremember.com, you can track David’s journey across Canada and support him along the way. Contributions can be made by buying a kilometer for $20 or by texting “Brain” to 45678 to make a $5 donation.

http://www.trainharder.com/2011/08/31/bc-man-running-across-canada-to-raise-awareness-of-brain-injuries/

A Sault Ste Marie Welcome in the works

On Monday - Aug 15 - David McGuire will be welcomed to Sault Ste. Marie by Mayor Amaroso, the City Council, and the local brain injury community with a Proclamation of 'A Run To Remember Day' for the city.  A gathering will be held at the Civic Centre (99 Foster Dr.) from 3:30 - 4:30.  David will also be speaking to the city council about his Run To Remember and why brain injury prevention is key.  

Also on Monday, David will be joined by Thomas Kennedy of Communicare Michigan, LLC for a marathon through Sault Ste. Marie and the presentation of his Corporate Challenge donation.  Communicare Michigan, which operates residential care and treatment facilities for patients with brain injuries and developmental disabilities, came forward with a pledge of $7,230, a dollar for each kilometer McGuire runs.  That equates to 4,492 miles! 

Come out and join us on Monday and 

be a part of this inspiring journey!

The Sudbury Star - Aug 11, 2011

'A brain injury is forever'

Local News - Sudbury

By LAURA STRICKER, THE SUDBURY STAR

Posted 4 hours ago

In 2005, David McGuire spent a week in a coma, the result of a bleed in his brain. Doctors told his family that even if the then 32-year-old woke up, he would probably never walk or talk again.

So, he decided to start running instead.

Six years later, he's spending eight months running across Canada to bring awareness and understanding to the issue of brain injury.

After he was sent home from hospital in 2005, McGuire went to live with his parents. His short-term memory was shot and doing even the most basic tasks was extremely difficult.

"I would basically sit there like a vegetable all day, waiting for my parents to get home," he said. He also faced a serious bout of depression.

McGuire eventually started running on a treadmill his parents had in their house. When his sister, a long-time runner, realized he was running longer distances than her, they signed up for a 2006 marathon in Chicago.

Since April 1 this year, he has been aiming to run a marathon a day, supported by his wife, Mandy, and Melissa Wild, who works with BrainTrust and is the run manager for his A Run to Remember. On Tuesday, they arrived in Sudbury and parked their RV in the Costco parking lot.

"We started in Newfoundland, we did the whole island," said Wild on Wednesday, outside Science North. "We went through Nova Scotia ... We went to PEI and through New Brunswick and then through Quebec -- Quebec City, Montreal, all the major cities on that route. And then we crossed over and went into Ottawa and then down from Ottawa to Kingston and then from Kingston through to Toronto and from Toronto up north, to North Bay and today we're (in Sudbury)."

The run is expected to wrap up at the end of November, about 7,200 kilometres later, in Victoria, B.C.

"A big thing for me at the end of the day is to get some kid to put on a helmet before they go out, hopefully the dad, as well," said McGuire. "The main point here is that we need to create the awareness that a brain injury is forever. It changes the whole definition of who you are and how you think."

He's using the run to focus on getting people to wear helmets because 90% of traumatic brain injuries are preventable.

"I think slowly but surely (the message is getting across). I think it's one of those things that everybody knows, but it's hard to remember to put on your helmet."  At the end of the day, McGuire's goal is to "prevent the (brain injuries) that we can prevent and help treat the ones that we can't."

McGuire still has trouble with his short-term memory to this day, which he says is "frustrating.

"There's not a lot I can do ... I'm lucky that I knew how to use technology, so I rely a lot on Microsoft Outlook and Calendar.

"When I was going back to school, I'd have to put down where the class was, actually diagnose where it was, what I needed for that class and how to get home afterwards. So I'd constantly have maps that would take me back home ... but as far as memory loss for me, I need to constantly repeat the same thing over and over and over again, and if I don't do it, even for a day or two, I won't remember it."

Despite the frustrations, McGuire, who lives in British Columbia, tries to keep a sense of humour about the situation.

"On the upside, I can watch movies over and over and over again, which saves you money. Family Guy episodes, always new!" he laughed.

"I try really hard to stay out of (depression), and one of the ways is humour. You've got to laugh at it, right? Otherwise it's just depressing as hell. Life sucks for everybody, not just me. It's still going to suck whether I've got a brain injury or not.

"It changed everything, it just does," he added. "It sucks sometimes, but it's also so preventable, and it's pretty simple. Put on a helmet. It's not worth going through. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone."

McGuire's next major stop is in Sault Ste. Marie, followed by Thunder Bay and a host of smaller communities along the way.

lstricker@thesudburystar.com Twitter: LauraStricker

- - -

Run to Remember

To follow along with David McGuire as he journeys across Canada, visit

www.r2rdavid.blogspot.com.

Contributions can be made by buying a kilometre for $20 at www.runtoremember.com, or by texting "Brain" to 45678 to make a $5 donation.

North Bay Police Service Assist with “A Run to Remember”

North Bay Police Service Assist with “A Run to Remember”

August 8, 2011 North Bay Police Service Assist with “A Run to Remember” On August 5, 2011 Mr. David McGuire came through North Bay as part of his “Run to Remember” national awareness campaign for brain injuries. David is running from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia, to raise awareness for this prevalent issue. He is running the equivalent of a marathon every day. One of the messages that David is sending out is to take the available precautions to prevent trauma to the head that can cause brain injuries. This includes wearing a helmet when riding a bicycle, skateboarding or snowboarding. Pictured from left to right is David McGuire, Jessica Blackmore, Shermeen Kazi (Youth in Policing Initiative students) and Constable Joe Whitehead.

CTV - North Bay, ON - Aug 5, 2011

CTV - North Bay, ON

CTV catches up with David while he runs though North Bay, ON with Mayor Al McDonald and a number of local runners.  

Macleans Magazine

David McGuire’s road to recovery

Six years after doctors said he may never talk or walk again, McGuire is running across Canada

by Alex Ballingall on Monday, August 8, 2011 9:00am - 0 Comments

Photography by Andrew Tolson

David McGuire wasn’t a runner before his accident. He was a cyclist when he was younger, but as an adult, he worked at a bank’s call centre and spent most of his free time playing video games on his Xbox. But six years after suffering a massive brain injury that nearly cost him his life, the 38-year-old is running across Canada.

He started in St. John’s on April 1, and, with the aim of completing a marathon a day, hopes to reach Victoria by November. Along the way, he’s raising money for BrainTrust Canada, a Kelowna, B.C.-based organization that funds brain injury research, support initiatives and safety campaigns. According to BrainTrust, one Canadian suffers a brain injury every three minutes. Brain injury is the leading cause of death for those under 45. “If I can stop one guy from whacking his head,” says McGuire, “then it’s all worth it.”

McGuire was 32 when he fell and struck his head in the bathroom of his apartment in Burnaby, B.C. Over the next few hours, he suffered several strokes. When help finally arrived, the scene was so gruesome that police thought McGuire had been assaulted. He was found lying naked, bleeding profusely from his head.

At the Royal Columbian Hospital in nearby New Westminster, a surgeon temporarily removed a chunk of McGuire’s skull to let his brain swell. His family was told he may never walk or talk again. But within a year, McGuire ran the Chicago Marathon. “That was just such an overwhelming feeling that started to give me confidence,” he says. “I did this myself. There was nobody else there.”

That’s not to say there aren’t challenges. McGuire’s short-term memory is gone. Sometimes he doesn’t remember the marathon he ran the day before. But running suits him. It’s physical and repetitive, and provides plenty of independence. “It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to run,” he says.

McGuire travels with a small crew who hammer out the logistics. “I get distracted if I’m in a new location or there’s a lot of stuff going on,” he says. “Am I turning left or am I turning right?” So Melissa Wild of BrainTrust is with him for every step. He also wears a watch that tracks his heart rate and the pace of his jogging. That way, he doesn’t overdo it if he forgets how long he’s been running.

When asked about the best experience of his run so far, McGuire tells of a girl in Grade 4 who, after learning of his injury, asked if he liked his new self, or his old self better. “It caught me totally off guard,” he says. The answer? It’s a tough one, but since the injury, McGuire says he’s gained a deeper respect for life. That’s why he’s out there, pounding the pavement, sharing his story, creating long-term memories.

Baytoday.ca, North Bay, ON - It changes your life in an instant

It changes your life in an instant

By Kate Adams

BayToday.ca

Friday, August 05, 2011

Making a lasting impression is not something that is easily done with someone who suffers from short-term memory loss, but Mayor Al McDonald and the City of North Bay may have succeeded in doing just that for David McGuire. McGuire, who sustained a brain injury in 2005 and was told he may never walk again, is running a cross-country marathon to raise awareness on brain injuries and prevention, rolled through the city today where McDonald showed his support for McGuire by lacing up his runners and running 5km to the waterfront for a welcoming ceremony. 

The runner says he is a brand new person due to the injuries and running has been a great tool in his recovery.

McGuire and his support team are grateful for any and all the support they have received but say North Bay has set the bar very high and the team is now calling on cities and towns up the highway to come up to North Bay standards.

Two great short, but compelling videos on David's story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_l33t2Dq1A&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0aSuA1CKMs

Bradford West Gwillimbury Times - Memorable: A Run to Remember

Memorable: A Run to Remember

By Miriam King

In 2005, David McGuire suffered a stroke and fell, hitting his head. The result - from the stroke or from the fall - was a serious brain injury that affected his temporal lobe, the seat of memory, reasoning and emotion.

At the time, doctors warned his family that he might never be able to walk or talk again.

McGuire has come a long way since those days, both figuratively and literally. It was his journey to recovery that made him aware of the lack of support for families of the brain-injured, the lack of understanding on the part of the general public of his largely "invisible" disability, and the lack of awareness that acquired brain injury is common - and preventable.

Not only did McGuire re-learn how to walk, in 2009 he trained for and ran an Ironman marathon, and began working with BrainTrust Canada to plan a cross-country Run, to raise awareness that "brain injury is the greatest cause of death and disability under the age of 45."

He's in the midst of his "Run to Remember" now. He left St. John's, Newfoundland on April 1, and will run a marathon every day, to reach Victoria, B.C. some time in October.

The name of the Run is ironic, fitting McGuire's indomitable sense of humour: one long-lasting effect of his brain injury is loss of short-term memory.

His long-term memory is unimpaired - he can speak English, drive a car, and find his way around the town he grew up in - but his short-term memory is gone. He can run a marathon each day, meet and speak with an array of people, give interviews to the press and television - but when he wakes up the next morning, it's as if it never happened.

The good thing, McGuire says, is that he can watch reruns of his favorite TV show, and always laugh at the jokes - and he can tell and retell his story without getting bored.

And telling his story is part of the plan. "My goal is to do a marathon a day, but also to talk as much as I can," McGuire says, to make people, especially parents, aware of the dangers of brain injury, and the importance of helmet use to reduce the risk.

It used to be that in hockey, in football and other sports, "you take a hit to the head, and get back into the game... Now we're realizing the effects can cause long-term damage," he says. But for many people, helmets are just not cool. "We don't have a great understanding of the fragility of life."

McGuire understands. "Pre-injury, I was very creative, free-living... very emotional." Now, he's "much more practical, pragmatic. I don't care what the emotion is - let's solve the problem." That's because, in addition to short-term memory loss and aphasia, his injury has affected his ability to feel appropriate emotions, or respond to situations in an appropriate way. "I look normal, but I'm not normal," he admits.

The frustrations of his struggle to come back from brain injury led to depression, and anger, before he discovered running as an outlet. The first 2 years post-injury were all about recovery and rehabilitation - but when he tried to go back to school and into the workforce, depression hit. "Just trying to get back into society was so hard."

His wife Mandy understands. "You're mourning the loss of you," she says - because a person after brain injury is not the same person. "It affects so many people in so many different ways - you can't predict what the impact is going to be."

And there is little to prepare families of the brain-injured for their new reality. The hospital that treated McGuire in 2005 saved his life, patched him up - and sent him home. "We didn't even know what to do - we didn't know where to go," or what the challenges would be, she says.

On July 28, McGuire ran through Bradford, stopping in front of the court house to share his story, and talk about acquired brain injury. He planned to take Friday off, before getting back on the road to Barrie and beyond. And he will continue running because 175,000 people in Canada suffer brain injury every year - one person every 3 minutes; because the highest rates of traumatic injury are in males aged 16 to 24, and in children; and because, although life-saving techniques have improved, support services have not advanced at the same rate.

For more information, or to donate to Run to Remember, see www.runtoremember.com or www.braintrustcanada.com

McGuire’s run across Canada reaches Eastern Ontario

David McGuire, after sustaining a brain injury in 2005, was told he might never walk again. So he started running. And running. And running. McGuire completed his first marathon in 2006, and this year he decided to take on the ultimate run: a trip across Canada. He left St. John’s on March 31, and is now making his way through Ontario. “I am just a guy with brain injury – but I can run, and I have a story to tell” says McGuire. The event is called A Run to Remember; David is working with BrainTrust Canada, a non-profit organization involved in national injury prevention strategies. The net proceeds of the run will create a legacy fund to promote brain injury prevention and develop new support strategies for people living with brain injury in Canada. Funds can be contributed through the www.runtoremember.com website where there are several options such as buying a km for $20, or by texting “Brain” to 45678 to contribute $5 on your phone bill, for any carrier.


http://theindependent.ca/2011/08/04/mcguire’s-run-across-canada-reaches-eastern-ontario/

Simco.com - Bradford, ON

Running to remember

• By Sean Pearce

Man with message. David McGuire makes his way up Holland Street East last week as part of A Run to Remember. The B.C. native is running across Canada to increase awareness about serious brain injuries. Staff photo/Sean Pearce

LEARN MORE
For more on Mr. McGuire, his cross-Canada campaign and how you can help, visitruntoremember.com

If you look up the word indomitable in the dictionary, you may just find a picture of David McGuire.

The 38-year-old British Columbia man is in the midst of a cross-Canada trek to heighten awareness about traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and how to prevent them. His A Run to Remember effectively has him running a marathon every day and saw him pass through downtown Bradford last Thursday, when he was welcomed warmly by Mayor Doug White and a handful of other well-wishers.

Despite the muggy weather, Mr. McGuire was in good spirits, noting the journey thus far has been a truly incredible experience.

And while his campaign to run across the country may have begun in April, the origins of his quest actually go back much farther, to when he first sustained his brain injury six years ago.

The exact circumstances surrounding his injury remain somewhat murky. Whether he slipped and struck his head in the shower or if he collapsed as a result of a stroke or an aneurysm remains a mystery, even to the various doctors who have examined him.

“We don’t know if it was the chicken before the egg or if it was vice versa,” Mr. McGuire explains. “When they took me to the hospital and removed the section of my skull, they realized that my brain had been bleeding for a while.”

Mr. McGuire spent the next seven days unconscious in hospital. When he awoke, he was very confused, to the point he didn’t recognize his family and friends at times.  The next year of his life was focused almost entirely on recovery. Doctors feared Mr. McGuire might never walk again, but he defied their expectations.  The worst part, however, wasn’t therapy or the seemingly endless tests, Mr. McGuire says. Re-adjusting after being released from the hospital was, by far, the hardest, he says, as the social supports for people with a serious brain injury are virtually non-existent.


The injury damaged the left side of Mr. McGuire’s brain and thus impacted memory, reasoning, certain fight or flight responses and emotional reactions. The short-term memory loss made trying to re-enter the workforce difficult and frustrating as routine tasks and duties were easily forgotten. 

Beyond that, some he encountered seemed skeptical about the scope of his brain injury as its symptoms were not always easily identified.  He likens his memory following his ordeal to a library full of toppled shelves and cabinets. All of the information might be there, but his brain has a difficult time storing and retrieving information since he sustained his injury, meaning he likely won’t recall sizeable segments of his cross-country run.  Eventually, Mr. McGuire slipped into a deep depression. It’s not an uncommon occurrence for people who have sustained a serious brain injury, he adds. “You’re mourning the loss of you,” Mr. McGuire says. “You’re mourning the loss of the person you were and who you could have been.”


It was a difficult time for his wife, Mandy Yip, as well. Prior to his injury, Mr. McGuire was a fairly light-hearted and easygoing person, she recalls. But afterwards, he became prone to anxiety and bouts of severe depression.
“He used to be relaxed, chilled and now there’s a lot of anxiety, so it’s hard to cope sometimes,” she says. “It was hard to tell what he needed (and) it was unnerving to see someone you love go through such a change and not really know who they are anymore.”

At the time of Mr. McGuire’s injury, he and Ms Yip were in a committed relationship, but had only been together for a relatively short time. It was difficult adjusting to their new reality at first, she says, but, in the end, she loved Mr. McGuire and the brain injury had nothing on that.

The couple were married on Aug. 8, 2008 or 08/08/08.

Despite his challenges, Mr. McGuire gradually began to realize things were not as horrible as they could have been. 
“It’s not that bad; I’m not homeless,” he says, noting a number of people with brain injuries unfortunately end up on the streets. “I have a wife and we’ve got a house.”

His new outlook prompted a re-evaluation not just of who he was after the injury, but who he’d been before as well.
Prior to sustaining his injury he worked in collections for a big bank. He was good at getting people to agree to payment terms, he says, but the job never brought about any profound sense of satisfaction.

“I figured there was more to life than that, so I made this bizarre sort of bucket list,” he says. “I was a new me (and) I started to think of new things I could do.”

Armed with a fresh outlook, Mr. McGuire took to running and, by 2006, had gone from someone who doctors feared might never walk again to a marathon runner. In 2009, he took part in the Penticton Ironman Triathalon and last year he participated in the Goofy Challenge, consisting of a half marathon one day followed by a full one the next.

That passion for running eventually merged with Mr. McGuire’s yearning to raise awareness about the need to provide better resources for people dealing with brain injuries and also to help educate people on how to prevent having one themselves. As such, he partnered with BrainTrust Canada, a non-profit organization committed to developing national injury prevention strategies, and his efforts attracted the attention of some big name sponsors including Rogers and Honda Canada, to name a few.

So, on April 1, A Run to Remember began in St. John’s, Nfld. and, if all goes according to plan, it will end in B.C. by November’s end.

Mr. McGuire is certainly hoping his efforts have a positive impact on reducing Canada’s brain injury statistics. Few realize that 166,000 Canadians suffer a traumatic brain injury every year — that’s 456 people per day or one injury every three minutes.

The incidence rate among children is even higher with the highest rate of traumatic injury occurring in young males aged 16-24. It’s for those kinds of reasons that more resources need to be allocated to not only assist those living with traumatic brain injuries, referred to as ‘the silent epidemic’, but also toward preventing them, he says.

“The majority of brain injuries are preventable,” Mr. McGuire says. “In some cases, it’s as simple as putting helmets on kids.” 

EMCSmithFalls.ca - A Run To Remember

A Run to Remember - after man told he might never walk again

Posted Aug 4, 2011BY EMC NEWS

Smith Falls & Kemptville

Click to Enlarge

Submitted

David McGuire is in the midst of A Run to Remember. It all started in St. John's, Newfoundland with an official launch on March 31, and is expected to complete in Victoria, B.C. at the end of October - seven months later. The name of the event is significant because memory problems are one of the major outcomes of brain injury, as it is for David.

EMC News - David McGuire was told he may never walk again . . . . so he is running instead.

David sustained brain injury in 2005, and although he was advised by medical staff that he may never walk again, he started running . . . and completed his first marathon in 2006, a year after his brain injury! David's story is a powerful one, and yet he is very humble - he often says "I am just a guy with brain injury - but I can run, and I have a story to tell."

David's life changed dramatically after brain injury, and he wants to bring awareness to this cause. How? He is going for a 'little run' - across Canada! A marathon a day, in fact.

The event is called A Run to Remember. It all started in St. John's, Newfoundland with an official launch March 31, and is expected to complete in Victoria, B.C. at the end of October - seven months later. It passed through this part of Eastern Ontario last month. The name of the event is significant because memory problems are one of the major outcomes of brain injury, as it is for David.

Sponsors include Foot Solutions franchises, Rogers Communications, Honda Canada, Harmony Honda Kelowna, Canadian Ski Patrol System, supporting companies GPS City, Splash Design, Free Spirit Photography, Post Net Print & Media Group Kelowna, Pro Sign Kelowna and Vega Foods, NGO partners Think First, Preventable and Smart Risk, and collaborators Tim Fallis (Black Rock Marketing), Craig Hurst and Jeannette Holman-Price.

David is working with BrainTrust Canada, a non-profit organization involved in national injury prevention strategies. The net proceeds of the run will create a legacy fund to promote brain injury prevention and develop new support strategies for people living with brain injury in Canada.

Funds can be contributed through the www.runtoremember.com website where there are several options such as buying a km for $20, or by texting "Brain" to 45678 to contribute $5 on your phone bill, for any carrier.

David's goal is to inspire people, especially youth, as they are most prone to high risk behavior and as a result have the highest incidence of acquired brain injury.

Brain injury has been labeled an epidemic and is the greatest cause of death and disability under 45, surpassing cancer, heart disease, diabetes and all other causes. More than 170,000 Canadians incur brain injury each year - that's 483 people per day, or one every three minutes....more than a Boeing 747 every day!

The good news is that up to 90 per cent of traumatic injuries are preventable - prevention is the cure. Awareness is the key.

Submitted by BrainTrust Canada.

Brain injury survivor takes on cross-Canada trek

Brain injury survivor takes on cross-Canada trek

News

Aug 03, 2011

Brain injury is the greatest cause of death and disability for Canadians under the age of 45, says a brain injury survivor who is running across Canada to raise awareness about the issue.

David McGuire, who was told he might never walk again following a brain injury six years ago, started his cross-Canada trek in St. John’s April 1 and was in Hamilton on July 29 to speak with clients and staff of Brain Injury Services, which serves the Haldimand and Norfolk area.

The 38-year-old resident of New Westminster, BC, who hopes to reach Victoria by the end of November, gave an inspirational address at the agency’s Hamilton headquarters to more than 75 individuals, including staff from the Hagersville branch office. 

Wearing a helmet is the number one prevention technique, McGuire says, and youth in particular need to be educated about donning the device during high-risk activities such as skateboarding.

“We’ve got a tremendous brain injury rehabilitation outreach program based in Hagersville and David’s message of prevention was extremely well received,” said Robert Roth, Brain Injury Services communications manager.

Brain injury disables or kills more people in Canada under the age of 45 than any other disease, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes. More than 170,000 Canadians incur brain injury each year. 

“It changes your life,” McGuire told the audience.  He has dubbed his fundraiser the “Run to Remember,” noting short-term memory loss as a lasting consequence of his head injury. 

McGuire is working with Brain Trust Canada, a not-for-profit organization involved in national injury prevention strategies.  Money raised will create a legacy fund to promote brain injury prevention and develop new support strategies for people living with brain injury in Canada.

“Young people are particularly prone to head injuries due to high-risk or high-impact activities such as hockey or skateboarding,” noted Roth, who is the former communications coordinator with the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit.  “Sports injuries in general figure prominently among youth in Haldimand and Norfolk.”

Brain Injury Services has an office in Hagersville  delivering outreach services to individuals living with the effects of an acquired brain injury.  Haldimand and Norfolk residents can also access other agency services, including complex residential care or transitional living arrangements following a head injury.

The National Post - Aug 1, 2011

Running from the one end of Canada to the other was a unique proposition when Terry Fox initiated his Marathon of Hope in 1980. Thirty-one years later, cross-country fundraisers are an almost daily sight on the shoulders of Canada’s summertime highways.

The Post offers this helpful round-up of some of Canada’s 2011 crop of fundraisers cycling, running or hitchhiking for a cause.

A marathon a day for the man who “would never walk again”

In 2006, 33-year-old David McGuire went into a coma following a massive stroke. In May, five years after he was told he would never be able to walk again, Mr. McGuire kicked off the “Run to Remember,” a name which pokes fun at Mr. McGuire’s short-term memory loss. Going from St. John’s to Victoria, Mr. McGuire is fundraising for Braintrust Canada as well as raising awareness of preventable brain injuries.

Each day, amid talks to schoolchildren and community groups, Mr. McGuire completes a 25-mile marathon. Throughout, he has kept his hair short to expose a massive C-shaped scar on the side of his head. Mr. McGuire reached Toronto on Sunday after a run through the Atlantic Provinces.

Read the full story...