Inspiration

   I am at the point now where I look forward to my every-other-day 5K run. During the work week I run in the evenings and several times a day I remind myself that it's a "run night" and this gets me a little pepped up.
   As I'm walking down the driveway after my warm-up, however, I always find myself wondering how the hell am I going to be able to run the whole way tonight, I can't believe I'm actually doing this. Still, I manage to finish.
   Along the way, though, there are times when I want to stop. I really want to stop. Like a man in a desert, I can almost feel the cold, wet taste of it and I give myself every reason or excuse to do so. And then I remind myself about Rob.

Rob and his wheels

   Rob Buren is my brother-in-law and a little over four years ago he was involved in a mountain biking accident which left him a paraplegic. Rob had always been one of those driven, active kinds of guys and, as much as this type of injury would be devastating for anyone, it was particularly devastating for him.
   In the aftermath of all this, though, Rob showed a side of himself which was, well, amazing. And amazing, I think, is truly an understatement.
   As soon as he was able after the accident, he began rehab. This is obviously standard procedure for anyone and is designed to get a person to a point where they are able to perform hopefully acceptable daily living skills. Rob, however, took rehab to a whole new level.
   In much less time than it would have taken anyone else, Rob was out of the rehab hospital and tackling what he refers to as "the new normal". For him, this meant learning new ways to perform all the usual daily routines and simply getting around his re-modelled home. It meant getting back behind the wheel of his car, getting back to work and, even more importantly, getting back to raising a young family.

Rob, his handcycle and ever-present smile

   For many of us in a similar situation, this might have been sufficient. But this wasn't enough for Rob. He had a burning desire to continue doing all the things he enjoyed doing before the accident. So this is exactly what he did!

Rob, satisfying the "need for speed"!

   Whatever his legs were unable to do, his hands and arms now did. He found all manner of wheeled contraption that would get him back on forest trails and asphalt highway. He swam, he boated and, when the "need for speed" peaked, he hit Mosport and Calabogie. His beloved motorbike was modified so that he could leave people in his dust on that as well. To put an exclamation point on all of this, Rob and his wife Sabrina also now compete all over North America in half-marathons, marathons and triathlons.



Rob and Sabrina

   So Rob is who I think of when the urge to quit hits me while out there doing my 5K. I imagine all the countless times he must have wanted to quit. I also simply imagine the joy he would have to be back on his two feet again and running. I am out there for about forty minutes a run and if Rob was given just one forty minute session with which to run again it is unthinkable to me that he would consider for even a second stopping! The ability to walk and run (and a whole host of other physical and mental abilities) is a gift most of us truly take for granted. Rob knows how much of a gift it is and if he wouldn't stop in the middle of a run then why the hell should I?