An Alexandria, Ont. man with a zest for life is overcoming obstacles and achieving goals by running in races with his walker.
On Saturday, 74-year-old Bob Hardy participated in the annual Santa Shuffle to help raise money for those in need.
“I’ve always been competitive, I just love the atmosphere,” Hardy said.
Hardy, better known as “The Walker Runner,” has logged more than 12,000 kilometers in the past 10 years racing with his walker.
“I started using the walker because I lost my balance because of a series of health problems,” Hardy said. “[I had leukemia] I still have cancerous tumors on my kidneys, blood clots and then finally last year, I had colon cancer.”
Over the years, his list of accomplishments continues to grow, including several marathons and a 100-kilometer ultra-marathon. He even has a black belt.
After a crash in April, he’s back working towards new goals with his new and improved custom walker.
It has a low centre of gravity for enhanced stability and a set of winter tires to help overcome obstacles and maintain stability at high speeds.
“When I run flat out, which I’m not going to do today, it doesn’t tip over,” said Hardy.
The five-kilometer fun-run and one kilometer walk raises money for the Salvation Army’s Bethany Hope Centre on Woodroffe Avenue.
“We’re a centre that supports young parent families and it’s certainly seeing an increase in families reaching out for support with rising prices and food and essential items,” said Stacey Alexander, resource development coordinator with the Salvation Army.
Despite all the challenges and setbacks, Hardy says he’s looking forward to setting new goals in 2025.
“I’m looking forward to going to Germany and racing in the World Transplant Games, representing Canada,” he said.