Sherbrooke resident shakes off leg injury to complete Everest challenge
Fernand Courchesne accomplished his goal to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest by ascending and descending Mont-orford National Park 19 times between Saturday and Sunday.
The 52-year-old gave himself the challenge more than a year ago in an effort to push his limits and raise awareness for Sherbrooke Shared Runs, a group that connects runners with people who have lost the use of their legs.
Courchesne completed the challenge in just over 22 hours, despite suffering a leg injury early on. The muscle in his right leg started to spasm during his third descent of Mont-orford, he explained, and it made him seriously consider retiring from the event.
From that point on, Courchesne needed to hike down the mountain rather than run, as he had originally intended. While it delayed the event by a few hours, the goal was never to complete the challenge in record time.
“My objective was to climb the mountain 19 times, so pushing it back by a few hours didn’t really change anything,” Courchesne said.
According to the Sherbrooke resident, he has been involved with Shared Runs for a long time. He started a Gofundme page with a target of $9,000. Although he didn’t reach the fundraising goal, Courchesne managed to generate $4,000 for the running group.
“I won’t reach the $9,000 mark, but I’m convinced I can generate another couple thousand,” said Courchesne, who plans to keep his Gofundme page active for a few more weeks.
He climbed, walked and ran 105 kilometres in two days and reached the equivalent of 9,280 metres in total. Mount Everest in comparison is 8,848 metres at its highest point. But despite his extensive training routine, Courchesne experienced some hiccups along the way.
He said that he lost sensation in his feet by his 10th walk down Orford. With his right leg still nagging him, Courchesne needed to make a quick decision. One of his friends, who was climbing the mountain with him, suggested using the chair lift.
“It was a good decision, because I wanted to complete the challenge, but my health is also really important, so I didn’t want to sacrifice my health and you know injure myself which could sideline me for six months,” he said.
While Courchesne was disappointed he needed to resort to using the chair lift down the mountain, he was still able to hike up every time. And at the end of the day, he was able to get people talking about Sherbrooke Shared Runs.
Courchesne realizes he became the face of the event, but he never would have been able to complete the challenge without his team, volunteers, friends and family. He had a lot of support and looks forward to his next test, once his body recovers.
“It was wonderful and it was really a team effort. I might be at the centre of the story, but without the team behind me I don’t think I would have been able to do it,” Courchesne said.
People can donate at https://gf.me/u/ ynuj67 or search “Soutenir «Les courses partagées de Sherbrooke»” on the Gofundme website.