Man credits YMCA for healing powers
Dan Wood is strong advocate of programs that offered him support in his road to recovery
Dan Wood is a man with a plan.
That plan is different than what others in his field may do, but he says this is a multi-level journey.
Wood and his wife Jessica have embarked on a three-year journey that started in December to visit every province, territory and state in North America.
One of the main reasons for the quest is to help spread awareness of the YMCA and the help it can offer people.
As such, as he travels, Wood will run a five- or 10-kilometre race in the communities that are hosting them while he visits, or he will run that distance on his own.
He also wants to see as many YMCA facilities as he can along the journey which will see him spend approximately six weeks in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“I want to visit each YMCA in the towns we visit in support of them and the impact the YMCA had on my life,’’ Wood said Monday from the Ches Penney YMCA in St. John’s.
“When I first got hurt, I couldn’t run. So, I joined a spin class and worked hard and before I knew it, my leg was good enough to run again. Now I am running 5-10 km each day, six days a week,’’ he added.
He said giving the YMCA exposure at each of his stops was an easy decision to make after he was able to get back to running after a serious injury a few years ago.
The injury could have taken his love of running away had it not been for the YMCA.
Wood is a public speaker and real estate coach who has been speaking across Canada for years.
He helps agents by training them with sales tips and techniques which allow them to be better real estate agents for their respective clients.
“I have been living on the road, travelling city to city by plane. I can now do it with my own vehicle, still do my job and see a host of things I normally wouldn’t get to see.”
So instead of basing himself from his home on Oshawa, he is now towing his home behind him, stopping wherever he wants and for whatever amount of time he deems necessary and, in the interim, completes his five to 10-kilometre runs in each community.
“My wife (Jessica) and I are chipping off our bucket list together,” he said.
“We wanted to come here to see icebergs and whales and we are hoping to check those two boxes before we leave,” he added.
He said they recently spent three months in Florida where he chased another of his bucket list items by getting to swim with manatees.
Wood said he was never an athlete, but through his second chance following the injury, he now trains like one.
He uses two different apps on his phone to help with the training including an app called SWORKIT.
“Having that is like having a coach in your pocket,’’ he said.
“The app creates a new workout routine for you. Between that and the YMCA, which has all the tools necessary to train, I have achieved many goals.”
It was a slow start for Wood at first, but the YMCA facility he used offered him a widearray of opportunities and he took advantage of it.
“I vowed to work out an hour a day; six days a week to get healthy. I did it,’’ he said.
“I want people to get unplugged from their TV’S and get out and enjoy life. The Y’s a perfect place for that. It is family oriented and a safe place to go as the YMCA’S schedule offers more in one day than most places offer in a week,’’ he said.
After the Wood’s decided how the adventure would work, they went out and secured a truck and RV to pull behind it and they could come and go as they please in any community they visit.
It was originally a trip for three, Dan and Becky and their dog, a Golden Doodle named Molly.
She was 11 when they planned the adventure. Unfortunately, Molly became sick and passed away prior to the trip commencing.
That loss was tough, but their resolve was strong, and they set out on the road.
So as he embarks north to see the areas around Bonavista and up to Twillingate, Wood has his goals organized and
even has an exit plan for when the journey is over.
“At the end, I want to take my shoes, one left and one right, and have them bronzed to give them to my mom and dad, who have been huge supporters
of mine my entire life,’’ he said.
“They will also get a list of all the places I have stepped in along the way.”