THUNDER BAY – Bronwyn Huffman considers herself lucky that she is able to participate in an annual women’s run.
The cancer and heart transplant survivor was one of hundreds of local walkers and runners to participate in the 35th annual Thunder Bay Run for Women around Boulevard Lake on Saturday.
It was just two years ago she was hoping merely to survive and see another day, let alone walk and run the five kilometre distance. It's been a long process to get to this point.
“Now that I have a new heart I can work to be stronger and not use a wheelchair or walker. The transition from being dehydrated and not being able to walk, to doing this run for a good cause and being able to do it means a lot to me,” she said.
Huffman was honoured before the start of the run for her perseverance and remarkable story of survival.
The run, always held on the Saturday before Mother’s Day, has become an annual spring tradition for many local women.
The timing is especially significant for Huffman and her family.
“Coming back and doing this close to Mother’s Day means a lot to my mom and I to be able to do this and spend time together,” she said.
Event chair Gordie Garriock said the run was originally founded as a non-competitive way to help introduce women to running and physical exercise.
It’s that spirit that lends a community atmosphere.
“A lot of people are here with their mothers, daughters, best friends. It really is a good day to celebrate,” Garriock said.
Organizers of this year’s event partnered with the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre to help raise money for the Northern Cardiac Fund to improve equipment in the cardiac catheterization lab.
Huffman, especially after her two-year ordeal, appreciates the value in offering top notch care locally.
“It would have been so much easier going through all this in Thunder Bay at my home, with my family and my friends than some place I was stuck in with just my close family for two years,” she said.
