Fibromyalgia, diabetes, bone spurs and a last-minute broken toe. None of it was enough to stop Christine Cousins from completing her goal of finishing the Pan Am Masters Games 10 k road race in Cleveland, Ohio.
“The race was gruelling,” says Cousins, who will be familiar to many in the Bracebridge area for her work as a recreation programmer at the Bracebridge Sportsplex. “It was 28C. I was informed the day before I left that my big toe has 2 bone spurs, arthritis and a little fracture. I said I was running anyway, I had sponsors and plans already made.”
Cousins was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2001 but there was much less known about the disease at that time.
“I tried to figure out how to live with the constant pain. Now I know the three biggest factors in my daily pain are stress, food and lack of movement,” she says. “I have a friend from high school who is a breast cancer survivor and it was after her suggestion that I said I would do the race. She said it could be something we could be proud of and it was a great example of the willpower it takes not to give up when the going gets tough.”
It all culminated in August with the 10k road race in Cleveland and a goal to finish the competition in under one hour.
“The race was hot,” she says. “For the first time ever, I had to stop and retie a shoelace. For the first time, I actually ran off the course and thanks to a woman behind me freaking out and yelling, we crossed through traffic and back onto the course.”
“Once I came around the last corner and could hear the crowds cheering, I started sprinting with everything I had left in me. I crossed the finish line at 1:01:07 as my time,” she said. “I had to battle with the thought that I was so close to making my goal….if I had just pushed a bit harder, gave a bit more….. then when I woke up the following day, the amount of pain and immobility I was in told me that I gave it everything I had. So I gave myself a break.”
Cousins had a friend come down to support her, and met with others connected to Ontario and even Bracebridge. Support also came from further afield and Cousins extends her gratitude to Parkwood Chiropractic and Total Balance Physiotherapy (who have helped keep her in racing form) as well as Kubota North and Stevens’ Independent Grocer who helped with sponsorship.
Cousins says it’s important for her to stand up and show people they don’t have to be the fastest, they just need to get up and get active.
“They don’t have to be the best, they just have to get past the excuses for not taking care of themselves mentally and physically,” she says. “I have hard days, but I also know that running for me is a stress reliever and it’s something that I can do to keep myself in good health. If I can do it…anyone can do it.”
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