| Still the Man In Motion |
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Rick Hansen’s big wheel never stops turnin’ By Kathleen Kenna / Photography by Todd Duncan Rick Hansen is sitting in his Vancouver gym overlooking the Fraser River. On the water, rowers churn past a wall of windows. Looking fit and younger than 52, Hansen is reminiscing about the Man in Motion world tour that made the wheelchair an international symbol of Canadian achievement. Yet his goal of wheeling 110 kilometres a day for Man in Motion, a gruelling pace unmatched by any other athlete, seems super-human. “The highest challenge for us was to get from Point A to Point B every day,” Hansen says. “We were struggling every day . . . we were under-supported; we had limited partnerships . . . it was as if we were starting from scratch.” Not only did his tiny crew start with little except Hansen’s seemingly impossible goal, Man in Motion meant powering around the world in 26 months in a wheelchair, through snow, relentless rain and strong winds. It also meant coping with what he now concedes was the toughest part of the dream — loneliness.
Hansen achieved all that, and more: His foundation has raised more than $250 million for spinal cord research over two decades, and has assisted in developing assistive technology that helps people with disabilities achieve their goals. Research has made such tremendous advances in helping those with spinal cord injuries avoid paralysis, that Hansen says he’s certain there will be “a cure, no question, in the next 25 years.” On the 25th anniversary of his historic trek, Hansen is proving the possibility of the impossible again, with another, shorter, ultramarathon. This time, it’s a relay, proving his contention that such ventures involve the co-operation of many. “You know, it takes a village,” Hansen says, grinning. It takes a country. It takes 7,000 “difference makers” running, walking and propelling themselves through 600 communities across Canada. The relay began Aug. 24 in Cape Spear, Nfld., and ends May 22 in Vancouver. In some ways, it’s a recreation of the original Man in Motion tour. This relay covers the same distance — 12,000 kilometres. Yet 25 years ago, Hansen was wheeling solo, covering the world’s circumference. Most of today’s runners who are passing a custom-made, silver medal from hand to hand across Canada for this marathon weren’t even alive for Hansen’s original feat. “Kids are the difference makers,” Hansen says, deflecting attention on his part in this relay. “This is about learning about the next generation of Canadians. You hear their stories, and you see the money they’re generating and you realize how capable and competent and engaged this generation is, and how it’s making a difference. They’re so savvy and connected. It’s very inspiring.” At 18, Tyrone Henry is one of those inspired by Hansen and he signed on to be one of the endurance relay athletes. In December, the Ottawa teen was covering 35 kilometres a day, five days a week, from Windsor to Thunder Bay, in a sleek handcycle. “It’s so much fun, you rarely notice the cold,” Henry says. “All of it is so incredible, I’m just soaking up every minute of this experience that I can.” Henry aims to be on the Canadian sledge hockey team, inspired by Hansen’s becoming a star athlete. Before Man in Motion, Hansen pumped his way to victory at 19 international wheelchair marathons, nine gold medals at the 1982 Pan American Wheelchair Games and six Paralympic medals.Hansen reveals he dreamed of undertaking a solo, global marathon, just not in a wheelchair. He became paraplegic in 1973 at age 15, after being thrown from the back of a pickup truck, at the end of a fishing trip near his hometown of Williams Lake, B.C. “I always had this dream of going around the world,” he explains. “It was going to be the biggest challenge of my life.”
“Rick Mercer called me and said, ‘Let’s go bungee jumping,’ and I said, ‘I don’t think so — let’s go fishing,’” Hansen recalls. “My daughter (Emma) challenged me: ‘What have you always told us about facing your fears?’” The result was a hilarious jump in Whistler, over white water filmed for CBC-TV’s The Rick Mercer Report. “There’s a difference between being reckless and taking risks,” Hansen explains. “You do your research . . . and then you say, ‘What the hell? Why not?’ Taking a risk is a nice excuse to stretch yourself.” Mercer told IMPACT Hansen has long been a personal hero. “Luckily for me and my viewers, Rick’s entire raison d’etre is to prove time and time again that a person in a wheelchair can do anything he puts his mind to. A person in a wheelchair can circle the globe, can conquer ignorance and can conquer fear. Anything an able bodied person can do, he can do as well, or better,” says Mercer. “And thank God Rick doesn’t just talk the talk; he walks the walk, or in his case, rolls the walk.” Hansen’s voice dips, to an especially tender tone, when describing his friendship with Terry Fox, the one-legged marathoner whose dream to run across Canada was cut short by cancer. It was Fox who inspired Hansen to grow the Man in Motion tour from a personal challenge into a global mission for breaking down barriers for people with disabilities. “I’m incredibly grateful for being surrounded by all these good people, who gave me a sense of fulfilment,” Hansen says. “Twenty-five years later, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for my health, my family and for 25 years of meaning and purpose. I was able to be in a chair and make a difference.”
Current tour: Many in Motion — Unis en Mouvement 2011-2012
Relay Medal
International Forum
Sources: www.rickhansen.com; Rick Hansen: Man in Motion, by Rick Hansen and Jim Taylor January/February 2012 |
At a time when disability still carried “a huge stigma,” Hansen said he dreamed of showing the world the potential of people with disabilities. He dreamed about boosting research in spinal cord injuries, and proving that no dream is impossible.
Hansen gives credit for the phenomenal success of his foundation to many partners along the way, especially his mentor, Stan Stronge, deemed Canada’s pioneer in wheelchair sports. Laughing, Hansen insists that it’s always motivating being the only man in a house with four women, including daughters aged 16, 19 and 21.
Original Tour: Man in Motion 1985-1986 (2 years, 2 months, 2 days)