The tremors in David Walker’s hands were so bad, he and his wife wouldn’t entertain dinner guests as he could barely grasp a knife and fork.
So when a diagnosis of Parkinson’s finally came following a series of tests at the UBC Medical Centre two-and-a-half years ago, Walker said he was more resolute than surprised.
“Now I know what it is,” he said. “Let’s tackle it.”
About to turn 75 in two months, Walker has been a lifelong long-distance runner and cyclist who’s competed in Ironman races in Mexico and completed Gran Fondo bike events.
He wasn’t about to let the degenerative neurological disease deter him from continuing to train and compete with and against other senior athletes at the Greyhounds Masters Track and Field Club that is based at Coquitlam’s Percy Perry Stadium.
On Saturday, Aug. 31, members of the club set out to complete a unique marathon in honour of Walker and another fellow Greyhounds’ athlete living with Parkinson’s. They’re also raising money for the Parkinson Canada to help find a cure for the disease that affects about 100,000 Canadians.
Rather than run the gruelling 42 km marathon distance individually, each participant will do a 100-metre sprint on the track at Percy Perry then hand off a baton to the next and so on until the entire distance has been covered relay-style. How many sprints each runner is expected to complete will depend on the number of club members who sign up for the effort, Walker said. But the entire marathon should be finished about two-and-a-half hours after they start at 9:30 a.m.
Donations will be collected in a bucket at the track, or can be done online directly to Parkinson Canada.
Walker said staying active has been a key component in his management of Parkinson’s symptoms.
“Exercise is great for Parkinson’s,” he said. “It really dissipates the symptoms.”
Walker said the discipline to head to the track for training three days a week, as well as writing poetry, taking photographs and even learning how to sketch, have also helped him fight the depression, mood changes and cognitive impairments that can also come with a diagnosis.
“You have to live with it, so you learn how you can cope with it,” Walker said, adding the gathering of athletes on Saturday is the culmination of the club’s summer season but in two weeks they’ll begin training for the winter session.
And while Walker said he’s slowed as the disease has progressed, he still enjoys the camaraderie of working out with other athletes over 35 years of age and even up into their 90s.
“You realize the track is just a bit shorter now,” he said.
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