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WIIITBY FREE PRES~. WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 20. iw~n PÂ~R R r Sunday, Sept. 18, 10 a.rn. More than 200 cycists,' walkers, spectators and runners have gathered in a parking Iot'at DurharnCollege. Race organizer. John Christie makes a short speech at the start litie; the n bounds to the officiai paco car. Andy Turchyniak, the official starter, raises a pistol. "Three, two, one." Bang. The ninth annual Terry Fox run, Oshawa-Whitby odition, bas begun. Few would. noétice as, Turchyniak bands off' the pistol to join in the' throng. He has some ground to make up but b is -easy strides carry bimi past most o the pack. As he runes, he chats, to companions on either aide, to friends iilong the way, to maréhalls. For Andy it is an easy Sunday jog - sort of. Despite his athletic prowess, ho. will stop two or there Urnes during the course, then 'resume. Ho wilI not like my mentioning that part. Most people have a special reason for participatin~ in the Terry Fox run. For so me it is the memory of Terry Fox, the dedicated youn'g man who past through the Durham Region just eght years ago. Few have reasons as compelling as Turchyniak". Four years ago, Andy basked in the glow of fitness. Running 60 to 70 miles a week, ho had comipleted several 10 ilometre races. His best: 35:04. The -35- minute borrner had eluded him so for but was within grasp. 1Early in October that year in Detroit he ron a 2:51:06 marathon. That's two hours and 51 minut es te, cover 26 miles, 385 yards. That's six and a haîf minutes for each mile. His resting pulse rate was 42 beats per minute. Ho was 33 years old. He feit ori top of the world. I really monitored myseif," ho says. "When I got up each morning I knew* if I was going te, have a good FEET UP by Bill Swan I.mprovmng the odds run" Ho feels that fitness.later saved bis life. It started in November, 1985, a few weeks after the Detroit marathon. A few stabbing pains in the bock. A cold in December ho couldn't shako. By mid-January, 1986, ho was too iii to report te work. Doctors thon confirmod everyones worst fear. Cancer. Within 12 weeks, a fast-growing turnor. had changed Andy's life frorn a quest for fitness te a battle for survival. His major bock pain had been caused by a large tumor in the lower abdomen which pressed against bis idneys and liver. By the time it was diagnoeed it was the size of a grape fruit and growing. Again, one of those dreadful termns: inoperable. At Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronte, Turchyniak under went several bouts of chemotherapy B "1dng reected:b "L rjooks weird," says Brunelle I Liting a lack of parking and height concorns, Whitby's plan- Ining and development committee Junanimously turned down a Ifour-storyoffice/retail building at the 'northeast corner of Eucid and Dundas St. W. The building was Michael Baratz anc ture retail and resta the first floor and4 the second and third The building Ridership up 35per cent By Trudie Zavadovies' Whitby Transit is on the road to successful service, accordi ng to Whitby's public works dopant- ment.' An additional 35 «per' cent of Whitby people are- now going alonq for the bus ride, compare to this time last year. A report to the operations com- mittee.Monda ynght'indicated expansion of the service, -imple- mented Aug. 21, impnoved the transit system while school rider.* ship accounts for the increase. Daily ridership during the first week of school is u-p 35 per cent from last year. One of the major changes in the transit system has been in the"frequency of service. There is' now 20-minute rathen than 30-, minute service during peak periods (5:45 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 7:20 p.m.) Monday to Friday; and to 30-minute fnom 60-minute ser- vice in off-peak peniods (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7:20 p.m.to 9 p .m.) Monday to Wednesday. Addi- tional evening sevice (te il p.m.) ispovided Thursday and Friday, and Saturday service now operates on 30-minute service from 8 a.m. to 7 p,.m; ;proposed by decrease in size to three stories dl would fea. from four stonies as it got dloser iurant use on to Euclid St. office use on It would feature a glass atrium [ floors. over a courtyard and would ho built of brick and imitation would also stucco. The proposaI included 40 park- ing saces although the Trown wouLUia ave rLqireLLII La a rJCJjJ2 ting spaces. This was not a concern to planning department which recommended approval of the development. But committee members feit differnl and turned down the "Tebiding looks weird. It doesn't fit in with the neighbor- hood and there is the parkin p roblem," said councillor Marcel Brunelle. Councillor Lynda Buffett agreed, noting that three stories wnuld be more in keeping with the neighborhood. "You are trýing te put too. largeq a building in tee small a spaS;, said councillor Joe Drumm. qWftTeIT*A 1 yo ur chanoe to get fîtwe 've dropped the price! fi t you drop the pounds! 2nd Annual Fali Clearance Sale Saturday Sept. 23, 1989 9am- 2pm " Household Products " Pool Supplies " Kitchen Supplies Ail item s at unrepeatable bargain prices!' MAINTENANCE LTD. 500l-IOPKINS ,S. MTY621~ over the next six months. The treatments left hîmý weak, exhausted, often discouraged. Before it was oûvor, the disease hadspread te bis lungs. Andy credits his fitness -level for his survival. "In the last stagçs of my chemotherapy we had one choice: te blast me and give me as much as 1 could take. Because I bad a strong heart I got through this stuff." "Sometimes it was typical of a marathon. You say, there's just o ne more mile,' that's not rnuch further. I did a lot of focusing like that. And like the marathon, that last bit hurts.'" But within six months ho had beaten the odds. The cancer was in remission. A nine and a haif hour operation te remove wbat later proved te ho henign scar tissue left hirn with vascular damage that required a second operation. But the cancer was gone. One of bisi fondest inemories of that trne: "ILookng' in the mirroi one day te, see one, eighth of an inch of stubble on my head and face. That was most thrilling. At the trne it was a big deall" Having ruhx bis own personial Marathon of Hope, Andy Turchyniak found- 10 Ilometres on Sunday an easy jog, even though he is flot as fit as ho was four years ago. foi eo things differently. It's eaaier te keep things in perspeciv._Jhr bppier. I sincerely hope people con feed off :my enthum'sm'i." Three Urnes since bis ilineos, Andy has completed the annual run at the college. "Itsà a pretty special day. Fim tbankful that Fin here te do it. rWhat is important is the bottem lino: that some people do make it. And the rnoney the mun raises helps improve those odds. 1'1Tm a survivor, and I want te encourage people not te give up. It's possible; you con do it. I was lucky enough te-boat the odds and make it." WIMY FREE PRESý, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMMER 20.1989. PAGE fi 9 u