Be your own hero
Pictou County man plans to run across Canada, and back, to promote active lifestyles
Trevor Redmond was 15 when Rick Hansen passed through his hometown in 1986.
Redmond didn’t get to see him.
He was in the hospital because four days before Hansen visited a vehicle had struck him while he was getting off a transit bus on Foord Street. His leg was so badly inured that doctors thought at first it might need to be amputated. His prognosis later improved to say that he’d be able to walk but would likely always need a cane.
While Redmond didn’t get to see Hansen that day, the man still inspired him.
In 2006 Redmond walked across Canada.
“I hope I can inspire the local people here and support these causes that are really important to me.” Trevor Redmond
Then in 2009 he biked across Canada and back in three months.
Now he’s preparing to run throughout Canada and back over 850 days visiting small and large communities to inspire others.
Redmond has been living in Calgary in recent years, but will be spending a month in Pictou County where he grew up before his trip starts on July 1. He’ll leave from Stellarton, near where his injury happened so many years ago.
Money raised will go to the Brigadoon Village and to the Rick Hansen Ambassador Foundation.
Brigadoon Camp is a special cause for Redmond because it’s for children with illnesses and special needs.
“I hope I can inspire the local people here and support these causes that are really important to me.”
Along the way he’s hoping people will be kind enough to offer him shelter, allow him to speak at their schools and provide a warm meal when they can. He knows there will be gaps in travel where that won’t be possible.
“In between where there’s not much population, that’s where I’ve got to pick up the pace,” he said.
His journey takes him all the way through the winter months. He said he’s made a point of not stopping when the weather is cold.
“I would not want to surrender to winter because I’m out to show mobility,” he said.
He did a test run between Calgary and Banff recently to see if he was still up for handling the distance and whether he could handle the –20C temperatures.
He admits when you’re setting up a tent in those temperatures you do it quickly and efficiently.
While that test trip of 290kms was meant to test his physical ability, he said even in that distance, people reached out to help him.
“It was wonderful for me to see the support I wasn’t even anticipating,” he said.
One person gave him a free pizza. Another provided a meal at a restaurant. The owner of a McDonald’s gave him a pocket full of coupons for free burgers.
“Those kind gestures give me so much energy,” he said.
As much as this trip is meant
to inspire others, there are personal aspects.
One is the fact that Redmond will be wearing shorts for much of the trip when he runs, making his damaged leg visible to all.
He said it’s something he’s struggled with since he was in the hospital and was told by a doctor that he probably wouldn’t want to swim or wear shorts anymore because of how bad his leg looked.
It damaged his self esteem. “On the highway I’m going to find myself getting rid of that phobia or insecurity,” he said.
Looking back on his life and what he personally has accomplished, Redmond said that Hansen may have motivated him, but he is no longer his biggest hero. The biggest hero in his life is the one he sees when he looks in the mirror. The face of the 15-year-old who spent hours putting putty into the space where skin and muscle were missing to keep it from becoming infected. It’s the person who grew up wearing pants to hide his disability from others so they wouldn’t treat him differently on the job or expect less of him.
When Redmond gives motivational talks at schools, he tells students he doesn’t want them to look to him as their biggest hero either.
“I tell them I want them – each child – to be their own greatest hero,” he said. “Whatever they can dream; whatever they can do to make this world a better place, be the hero.”