A University of Guelph student has completed a 150-kilometre run raising more than $26,000 for cancer research, just weeks after completing radiation therapy for a brain tumour.
Haley Davis was diagnosed with a rare tumour in 2019 while still in high school and underwent emergency surgery.
She underwent a second surgery this past January after cancer cells were detected, and she completed radiation therapy on April 12.
Just 18 days later, Davis began her Guelph-to-Goderich run surrounded by friends and family at a spot near Guelph Lake.
“I was so excited and eager to start the run,” said Davis, a bio-resource management student at the U of G.
“My emotions were happy ones. My mom, Janet, gets really emotional when we bring up the subject of brain cancer. I guess I’ll know better what she was going through when I’m a mother, but her emotions were also really happy ones that day.”
Davis, an accomplished runner, ran 30 kilometres per day in 15-kilometre intervals over five days. Accompanied by her father on a bicycle, she reached the shores of Lake Huron in Goderich right on schedule.
“I tried to stay positive throughout the run, but my parents can definitely vouch for the fact that sometimes it was hard to get up in the mornings to prepare myself for the next 30 kilometres,” she said.
“But I did have some friends and my dad biking and running with me and they definitely helped keep my spirits up. We also had music playing.”
Originally, Davis had hoped to raise $10,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation but reached that goal before even starting the run. As of Tuesday, she had raised $26,440.
Davis is a cross-country and track-and-field runner with the U of G Gryphons. Before her surgery, she was training for the eight-kilometre cross-country competition. On the track, she competes in the 800-metre and 1,500-metre events.
In high school, she won five provincial medals, including two gold. She holds records for John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute in Guelph.
“As an athlete, you push yourself to break through so many different boundaries and sometimes it’s hard to crash through them,” she said.
“In races, you put a lot of stress on your body and mind. But after going through the first surgery, I remember thinking that a race is not going to seem as daunting, because of this experience. Sometimes you have to remember the original joy you found in your sport and remind yourself that it’s a privilege to be able to compete.”
According to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, an estimated 55,000 Canadians live with a brain tumour. Nearly one in two Canadians are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.
Davis said she has big plans going forward and wants to live life to the fullest.
“My pipeline goal is to be on the national team and represent Canada for track and field or cross-country. I really hope to compete for my country someday,” she said.
“But I also want to grow up and have a family, travel and do lots of things.”