Cancer

Often people ask me if I am religious. I admit I take some glee in telling them that I am not because their faces light up in shock, followed by disbelief, a need to make me a born again Christian and then wonderment. I often give them an out by saying “crazy muzungu,” and they nod silently while I advert my eyes to the ground, giving them a moment to compose themselves.  Yet each morning as I lace up my sneakers for my daily run I feel like a religious fanatic. As the mist rises and the sunlight stretches thinly over the landscape, the only thing that can be seen is my sneakers beating against the pavement as I make my way up and down hills to Emirizi village. It feels religious because it is my alone time every day to remember my grandmother. My adored grandmother Anne Johnson recently died from breast cancer and nearly every morning it feels like she is running beside me. My shadow; a part of me but always 10 steps ahead is my grandmother beckoning me over every steep hill and impossible climb. Once I get back to Canada I plan to run for my grandmother again in the Run for the Cure breast cancer fundraising campaign. If other runners in Kamloops that would like to participate in this July event I would welcome teammates.

I would like to dedicate this post to my Grandfather, Mother and Uncles Kelly and Dwayne