Saskatchewan is no stranger to hitting the ice for a morning skate, but generally, people don’t go 42 kilometres on the morning stroll.
For Canadian Paralympian Tyler McGregor however, that was exactly what he set out to do at Echo Lake Thursday.
McGregor is currently on a cross-Canada Sledge Skate of Hope, inspired by Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope, where he is raising money for the Terry Fox Foundation.
The goal is to skate his sled 42 kilometres in every Canadian province and raise $100,000 in total through the tour.
The adventure began in Halifax on Jan. 6, but for McGregor, the connection to Fox has been felt for far longer.
As McGregor progressed through hockey growing up, he entered the OHL draft and broke his leg in the first game of the season. After a series of surgeries and setbacks, he was diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma – a bone cancer very similar to what affected Fox.
“Terry Fox became an inspiration in my life very early on,” McGregor said.
Fox was given about a 20 per cent chance of survival when he was diagnosed with cancer. For McGregor, after medical advancements in the field, he was given an 80 per cent chance of survival.
“Thanks to the marathon of hope, the Terry Fox Foundation and the awareness and money that he spearheaded in 1980 and the subsequent research that has been done since then, people like myself have been able to regain their health and continue to live,” McGregor said.
Echo Lake marked the sixth stop on the tour, and the ice was in perfect condition.
“Echo Valley has been incredible,” he said. “The ice is so fast and so hard. This is probably my favourite ice I’ve been on so far.”
The skate was held at an 800-metre track in the park.
Those at Sask Parks said it was great to have McGregor in the community and have the chance to meet people from Saskatchewan going through something similar.
“We are honoured Tyler chose us and he actually sought out our park specifically,” said Shelly Maclean, the manager of Echo Valley Provincial Park. “We are so happy to help Tyler be successful, and he is a very inspiring young man.”
To donate to the fund, you can visit sledgeskateofhope.com
McGregor makes his next stop in Winnipeg this weekend.
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