La Cité Collégiale Woman, Nadia Périard Hat Trick at Terry Fox Run in Alexandria Ontario

CFN – In true Terry Fox fashion, a real tribute to his legacy, a local young woman proves once again that she has the drive, determination, endurance and perseverance to succeed. Nadia Périard, a 19 year old student at La Cité Collégiale, was to start her day, first running 10 KMs on the Glengarry Trails, then participate in Robert “Bob” Hardy’s, 50 KM bike run, and finally continue running 40 KM on the Glengarry Trails to surpass her endurance record set last year at the Terry Fox Run in 2011.

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Nadia began her day running 10 KM on the Glengarry Trails, her goal was to finish the 10 KM run, then participate in the 50 KM bike ride. But, as Murphy’s Law would have it, her bike had two flat tires. Being a specialty racing bike, parts are not available from local retailers. We tried everything possible to make sure that Nadia could race with the pack, but it was not in the cards. Instead of quitting, Nadia asked a few people if she could borrow a bike to ride the 50 KM, then asked Doug Boeckh, the organizer of the Terry Fox Run in Alexandria, if she could borrow his young sons mountain bike. Doug asked his sons permission, and with a resounding yes, the goal was back on track.

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Since the main group was already long gone, I asked Nadia to ride the course backwards, with the aim of meeting up with the cyclists to take photos. It worked, I managed to take some good photos of the cyclists as they went by. I followed Nadia, spotting her for safety in the van, taking photos along the way. I watched as Nadia completed the 50 KM bike ride on a small Mountain bike, arriving at the park by 3 PM.

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With 60 KM already completed, a quick lunch break was in order, as Nadia and myself ate, a Mediterranean salad with chicken, to restore the vitamins and minerals she would need to conquer the last 40 KM run. Why was I eating and trying to replenish my reserves. For one, I was really hungry, but the real reason, is since the run would continue at 4 PM, no one else was left to spot Nadia while running on the trails. As a member of the Friends of Glengarry Trails Association, it was my responsibility to make sure that Nadia was safe and to spot her while she was running on the trails. Now, for the record, I am not a jogger, so I rode my wife’s mountain bike (do you see the humour here), along side Nadia to make sure she was OK and to supervise her run.

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With complete wonderment, Nadia finished running the additional 40 KM, I, Jeff Poissant,  was there to bear witness, her heart rate was a cool 141 beats per minute (as indicated by her heart monitor watch), steady, with a few spikes when jogging up the small hills. I rode the bike beside Nadia, spotting her the entire time as we both inherently completed the 40 KM run by 8 o’clock in the evening. We met with Doug Boeckh, the organizer of the Terry Fox Run at Island Park to solidify the new bench mark.

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Nadia Périard, a 19 year old student at La Cité Collégiale and a resident of Alexandria, completed the 50 KM run and 50 KM bike ride to achieve a 100 KM finish in roughly 9 hours. A true testament of courage, drive, determination, endurance and perseverance. You can add any number of adjectives to this sentence. It is with sheer amazement and joy to witness someone complete their goal.

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I am truly proud of this woman.

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Jeff Poissant, R.G.D.

Outreach Committee

Friends of Glengarry Trails Association

(Photo courtesy of Jeff Poissant, R.G.D.