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They
say a journey of a thousand miles begins with
a single step... Amateurs!! On June 25th of this
year, my father Alex Nilsson, at the age of 70,
began a journey that would take him almost FOUR
THOUSAND miles across mountain passes, sun-baked
prairies, lush forest and rain-soaked coastal
regions!
With
nothing but roller skis, an iron will (or is it
Swedish stubbornness?), and a wife with the patience
of a saint, he began the trek across the entire
country of Canada, west coast to east coast.
Would
his body and his will hold strong? The answer
is very clearly YES! On October 3rd, Alex arrived
in St. John's, Newfoundland to dip his wheels
into the Atlantic Ocean, pouring a bottle of Pacific
Ocean water in to complete the circle.
Roller
skis, for those not familiar with them, are basically
skis with wheels. The action is exactly like regular
cross-country skiing only you don't need snow
- just a reasonably smooth surface!
In
St. John's, met by television, press and representatives
of the Canadian Diabetes Association (he was roller
skiing to raise awareness for Type 2 Diabetes
prevention), Alex spoke about his journey to "The
Telegram" reporter Tara Bradbury Mullowney.
Here is an excerpt from the article about the
cross-country journey:
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"I
feel better now than when I started," Nilsson
said.
Nilsson
is no stranger to physical feats. In addition
to fitness training three or four hours each day,
he has run marathons, cycles, plays tennis and
golf and goes downhill skiing when the weather
permits.
A retired
public health employee, Nilsson is one of a few
seniors around with washboard abs.
Nilsson
skied all the way from B.C., followed by his wife,
Nicole, in a
motorhome, and averaged about 80 kilometres per
day. He admits the going wasn't always easy due
to poor road conditions.
"It
was different in different areas of the country.
In some places there was a lot of traffic and
really narrow roads. I struggled a lot in places
where the shoulder of the road was only a narrow
strip, and I think I used up all my guardian angels,"
Nilsson said with a laugh.
"Sometimes
I would look down a stretch of road and think,
'do I really have the gumption to do this?'"
Nilsson,
who says he figures he lost about five pounds
of "baby fat" over the course of his
trip, said he never thought about giving up the
trek, even though his toes often became so sore
that Nicole, a nurse, had to bandage them.
Nilsson
is pleased with the attention he was able to raise
for his cause through his cross-Canada voyage.
Type
2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas either can't
produce insulin or is unable to use it properly.
With the increased consumption of sugary foods
and inactivity in North America, this form of
diabetes is on the rise.
Nilsson
says, "I haven't ever changed my activity
level - I do the same amount of activity now at
70 that I did at 20," he said. "I never
think, 'I'm too old, I can't do that.' I've never
given a second thought to my age. It's no big
deal."
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When
people ask me what I think of my father's journey,
I tell them this:
Every
time, in the past 3 months, when I thought about
putting off or skipping a workout because I felt
too tired or was just feeling lazy, all I had
to do was think about my father roller skiing
80 km (about 50 miles) EVERY SINGLE DAY, rain
or shine. The workout would ALWAYS get done.
Let
me put it this way... there aren't many people
I know who can even say that their father DROVE
across Canada, much less crossed it under their
own power!
To
learn more about the trip, including day-by-day
diaries as told by my mother Nicole, and to learn
more about Type 2 Diabetes and how it can be prevented,
please visit his site at:
http://www.skiacrosscanada.com
Please
forward this article to anybody you feel would
benefit from an inspirational story like this!
Age IS just a number - you're never too old to
get yourself in the best shape of your life!
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